Aldosterone and Hearing

Not sure if this has been posted before... Interesting read nonetheless.

https://www.parsemusfoundation.org/projects/aldosterone-hearing/

 

Another good article about aldosterone. And a link to a source. I'm going to give this a try for sure.
https://aging-matters.com/aldosterone-the-hearing-hormone/
https://theantiaging.store/products/558-aldopro-liquid-.html

 

Thank you for this! I've read about aldosterone in the past for hearing loss, but was never able to find a source of it.

 

I'm trying this because Aldosterone may lend itself particularly well to my particular case as Azithromycin is toxic (among other things) to the Na/K channels in the stria vascularis. In particular, I hope this will help my low frequency losses.

Anyway, managed to get some bio-identical Aldosterone from Canada and just took my first 125 microgram dose. Wish me luck! I will update in a few weeks and then months.

 

If it is successful, how long do you presume it will take to work?

 

Best of luck, FGG.

 

I'm not saying that no-one would benefit (go @FGG!), but the general tone of this article was of someone selling snake oil to your grandmother. He claims a general 30 decibel improvement (which is pretty dramatic), these claims have been made for a decade or two, yet it's not widely known about. Doesn't ring true to me.

 

If his low frequency problem was causes by hydrops, he could absolutely see that kind of dramatic improvement in low frequency hearing.

Mine isn't caused by hydrops but Aldosterone should make my surviving strial Na/K channels (because it acts directly on them) more efficient and my cochlear electrolyte balance better. It can also help maximize receptor gene expression.

I don't think most people would benefit (although, Aldosterone or a low sodium, higher potassium diet does slow down hearing loss progression somewhat) but my specific case might see some benefit, possibly even a large benefit.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27157488/

I talked to the Canandian doctor who prescribed this for me at length and he said that very few people see a change in their hearing but the people who do have hydrops or very esoteric causes of hearing loss and they can see a very noticeable improvement after a few months.

 

By doctor, is this your GP or ENT? I have an ENT follow-up next month... might as well ask too then.

 

He's a general practitioner that the compounding pharmacy in Canada informed me is familiar with the drug and its use. He does telehealth.

It's not for noise induced hearing loss btw.

 

I'm all for trying anything that might help (assuming it doesn't have more than minor adverse effects) but the underlying causes of high frequency (age related) hearing loss and low frequency hearing loss are so different and distinct, do you really think this has much hope of helping?

Either way (as someone in the same boat) I hope it's helpful for you.

 

I'm not taking it for any reason other than Azithrimycin is completely unique in targeting the Na/K channels of the stria vascularis (among other things it effects). Aldosterone should help my remaining channels work more efficiently.

I wouldn't take this if I had any other etiology (except maybe hydrops).

The reason i said it may help my low frequency hearing loss in particular is because there is a chance not all of my low frequency loss is due to hair cell death (as in my high frequency). Improving my Na/K channel efficiency won't help in areas I don't have decent hair cell populations.

 

Although I have used earplugs chronically, my tinnitus was caused by ear infection and probably also by Neomycin treatment for the infection. My hearing has been getting worse these past two years. From the article, Aldosterone is helping for aged related hearing loss. Does it have negative side effects, such as inhibiting the body's own production of Aldosterone? A lot of steroidal drugs do this.

 

Aminoglycosides (like Neomycin) are not toxic to the strial Na/K channels. I doubt this would help you but it could slow down the progression of age-related hearing loss.

You could achieve the same later effect with a lower salt, higher potassium diet, though (which Aldosterone affects):

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45930-5

The relevant bit:

"In addition, previous studies demonstrated that a high-potassium diet is associated with an increase in serum aldosterone levels, which prevents hearing impairment through upregulation of Na+-K+ ATPase and Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter"

 

Okay, thank you. I'll try to find a good food source for potassium.

 

Sorry if this muddies the waters a bit, but a recent study - possibly a landmark study - suggests that age-related hearing loss is just noise-induced hearing loss over increasing periods of exposure to noise. I'm not sure where this leaves Aldosterone which is claimed to be useful in slowing presbycusis, something which may not even exist.

 

Aldosterone decreases as we age and some people think this is why older people are more susceptible (I will look for the link I read on this) to inflammatory damage to the auditory system as we age from any cause including noise.

Interesting fact, if you give Spironolactone to someone with autoimmune ear disease, the Prednisone is rendered ineffective because Spironolactone blocks Aldosterone and thus mineralocorticoid receptor stimulation.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11889387/

Tl;Dr; Aldosterone puts the inner ear in a more anti inflammatory similar to Prednisone, but probably actually more potent since Aldosterone has more affinity for the mineralocorticoid receptor.

You could increase your Aldosterone with higher potassium diet alone, though and I wouldn't be taking it if I wasn't using the drug for a different reasons (making my remaining undamaged strial Na/K channels more efficient).

 

https://www.usf.edu/news/2019/hearing-loss-may-be-preventable-with-development-new-drug.aspx

“The first ever medication to treat age-related hearing loss could potentially receive FDA approval through a comprehensive study being conducted at the University of South Florida.

Robert Frisina, PhD, chair of the USF Medical Engineering Department and director of the USF Global Center for Hearing and Speech Research, and his team were awarded a U.S. patent for his theory that you can slow hearing loss by combining supplements for the hormone aldosterone with anti-inflammatory medications, such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Aldosterone is a naturally-occurring steroid that influences sodium and potassium regulation in the body, including the inner ear used for hearing. Its level typically decreases as we age, impacting auditory perception.

“Our novel idea, embodied in the new patent, involves boosting aldosterone to young adult levels, to make the ear “young” again,” said Frisina.

The research is part of a five-year, $9 million grant awarded from the National Institutes of Health to USF’s Global Center. Since its renewal launch in 2016, the study has included pre-clinical trials on mice. The aging mice received subcutaneous, time release aldosterone treatments for 4 months, equivalent to about 7-8 years of treatment for people. Frisina and his colleagues found untreated aging mice experienced a 50 percent decline in aldosterone compared to young adult mice. However, following treatment, the levels rose to a near normal range. It’s important to note that the hormone supplement did not induce potential negative side effects, such as elevating blood pressure. Most importantly, the treated mice did not undergo age-related hearing loss during the study, whereas the control mice did suffer from continued age-linked hearing impairment.

Frisina’s team is now in the process of licensing the patent and if successful, will then conduct four levels of FDA human clinical trials in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company doing the licensing. Once the drug is FDA-approved, it would then be available to the public. Its eventual commercialization could be life-changing for many, as age-related hearing loss is the number one communication disorder of our elderly population, and impacts more people than any other neurodegenerative disease of aging.”

 

It's been about a week so here is my update:

My neck pain (chronic for 15 years, unrelated to tinnitus) is much better (at least 50%). Even better than when I was taking Prednisone. I did not expect this at all. Maybe it's a coincidence, I will keep an eye on this.

I think it's doing something with my hearing, too.

I can hear thunder that isn't next to my house. It rains a lot here in the summer so I can test this often. I can also kind of hear as low as 70 Hz with my phone turned all the way up (it was 80 something Hz before).

The really sour (for lack of a better word) distortions in music are still there but noticeably less sour. Overall, more "uncomfortable" in a nails on chalkboard way rather than fully disturbing like normal. I am hoping I get more changes after a few months (enough so I could listen to at least some types of music is my dream). It can apparently take half a year to see the full benefit for hydrops and who knows the time frame in my case.

My high frequency hearing doesn't seem different (and I don't expect it to be until regenerative medicine as I have hair cell death), though and my tinnitus is mostly the same with slight fluctuations that may have been there before but I'm just cataloging it more and paying closer attention to really subtle differences (I mostly mask all day which is why I might not have noticed).

For reference, my most bothersome tinnitus is at about 12000 Hz. I have more broadband "crickets" type sound, too but that one doesn't phase me much compared to the pure tone. No change in "crickets" either.

 

@FGG. Sounds well worthwhile. Hopefully the results will be even better with continued use.

 

@FGG, any updates?

 

Interesting. Aldosterone is released by the body to retain sodium and H2O reabsorption during times of low water intake in order to maintain blood pressure homeostasis.

One activity in particular that would potentially increase Aldosterone... dry fasting. Which many have been preaching helps tinnitus for a long time. Additionally when Aldosterone is released naturally it is a result of cascades from the renin-angiotensin system. I’m not sure taking it as a supplement would have the same effect as having it be released naturally in the body during times when the body needed it.