People who've had their ears damaged by gunfire, jackhammers or punk rock have traditionally had two choices: get hearing aids, or suffer in silence.
But a new set of drugs, about to be tested on Marine recruits, is showing promise as a way to protect ears against the din.
Noise causes harm either by tearing the inner ear -- so-called "mechanical" damage -- or by overstressing some of the cells there. This "metabolic exhaustion" starts a toxic chain reaction, killing off or severely weakening the cells.
In a series of animal studies, antioxidant drugs have been able to counteract the exhaustion in animals, easing metabolic woes.
A test on hundreds of Marine recruits, set to start next month, will be the first large-scale human trial. But that hasn't stopped a start-up from marketing one of the most promising antioxidants as a "hearing pill." And audiology experts are pissed.
My Wired News article has details.
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