Red wine recommended to protect against deafness

New research reported in the New Scientist has found that age-related deafness or hearing loss caused by loud noise or antibiotics could be reduced by antioxidants found in red wine, green tea and aspirin.

Delicate hairs in the inner ear, vital for hearing, can be damaged by oxygen free radicals. These can be produced through normal cellular processes throughout life as well as a response to loud noise and exposure to antibiotics. It has previously been established that antioxidants such as resveratrol found in red wine and green tea, or salicylate, the active ingredient of aspirin, can help to inactivate free radicals. To try to find out whether these antioxidants could protect the inner ear from oxidative stress and hence reduce hearing loss. Two new pieces of research have been carried out.

The first study was conducted by Jochen Schacht and colleagues from the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, US. They tested whether salicylate could prevent damage to patients who had been treated with the antibiotic, gentamicin. Gentamicin is used to treat severe, acute ear infections. Group one was given gentamicin plus aspirin. Group two was treated with gentamicin and a placebo. Hearing loss affected 3% of patients in group one and 13% in group two. This suggested that salicylate might be able to reduce antibiotic induced hearing loss by 75%.

In the second study, Matti Anniko and colleagues from Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden, treated patients with Meniere’s Disease with a cocktail of antioxidants (rebamipide, vitamin C and glutathione). Meniere’s disease is linked with oxidative damage to the ear and symptoms include vertigo, nausea and balance problems. After taking the antioxidants for six months, symptoms improved in the subjects who had been recently diagnosed with the disease. Unfortunately, little improvement was seen in patients who had had the condition for many years. These observations indicated that the antioxidants may limit further damage if administered in the early stages of the disease.

Both studies were presented at a conference at University College London. The overall result suggested that patients should increase the amount of green vegetables and green tea in their diet along with a moderate amount of red wine.