Try Saline When Your Hearing Is Muffled After Loud Noise Exposure

Close-up of steering wheel, showing AIRBAG; hearing loss and tinnitus after loud noise exposure concept

If you've got temporary hearing loss or tinnitus after being at a loud concert or sports event, you may be able to fix it -- if you act fast.

A 2021 Keck Medicine of USC study published in Science Daily has found that the nerve damage to the inner ear caused by loud noises is basically a build up of fluids.

Treating that "fluid buildup with a readily available saline solution lessened nerve damage in the inner ear."

A previous study by the same otolaryngologist showed that inner ear fluid level is not affected until noises reach 100 decibels, which is how loud a motorcycle is.

"When researchers applied hypertonic saline, a salt-based solution used to treat nasal congestions in humans, into affected ears one hour after the noise exposure, both the immediate fluid buildup and the long-term nerve damage lessened, implying that the hearing loss could be at least partially prevented."

The benefits of this knowledge are twofold:

1. If fluid buildup can be measured, then people exposed to very loud sounds like airbags or gunshots can be diagnosed for possible impending nerve damage.

2. Better treatments for Meniere's disease, "a disorder of the inner ear that causes vertigo, ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and hearing loss."

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