Can a Dead Battery Contribute to Hearing Loss?

Imagine the sound of ocean waves crashing against the shore or listening to your best friend whisper a funny joke in your ear.

Now, imagine how you would feel if you could no longer hear those sounds, but instead, could only remember hearing those sounds. That could be a scenario some of us may encounter as we get older.

The prevalence of age-related hearing loss amongst people 57-75 years old is expected to rise over the next decade according to a recently published article titled "Age-related hearing loss: quality of care for quality of life". This increase is the result of damage to the snail-shaped organ in your ear known as the cochlea.

The cochlea is the portion of the inner ear most closely associated with the hearing response. It is a spiral-shaped, fluid-filled bone cavity with tiny hair cells that line each turn. Within each turn there is a lateral wall consisting of a “battery-like” structure called the “stria vascularis” that provides energy and nutrients. When you hear a sound, such as crashing ocean waves, the tiny hair cells shake within the nutrient-rich fluid to send messages to your brain about the sound you hear. 

"The energy supplied by the battery in the lateral wall allows the tiny hair cells to shake; without that energy, the hair cells are unable to send messages to the brain."

-- Tyreek Jenkins

However, as people become older, the cochlea becomes damaged – the tiny hair cells disappear; the lateral wall falls apart; fewer messages are sent to the brain.

The culmination of this damage is hearing loss. Some of the first sounds you can no longer hear are those of high and low pitch, such as birds chirping as you sip your morning coffee or thunder rumbling during a summer storm. As terrible as it seems, age-related hearing loss is a reality that must be addressed to improve the quality of life for the elderly.

Currently, the hearing research program at the Medical University of South Carolina is investigating how aging causes cochlea damage. Hainan Lang, M.D., Ph.D., a hearing researcher and professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, has spent nearly 25 years exploring cochlear damage.

Lang and others suggest through multiple published articles that loss of the battery in the lateral wall is a leading cause of age-related hearing loss. The energy supplied by the battery in the lateral wall allows the tiny hair cells to shake; without that energy, the hair cells are unable to send messages to the brain. Therefore, ongoing studies of the lateral wall are essential for understanding cochlear damage in relation to aging.

You might now be wondering, “How can a battery-like structure the shape of a snail’s shell be examined for energy production?” Let me explain.

To better understand how the lateral wall functions, the Lang lab is presently developing ways to grow lateral wall tissue from young-adult and aged murine temporal bones. The idea is to maintain lateral wall tissue function outside of the body to measure energy production using vibrant color labeling that is visualized using a high-powered laser microscope.

Distinguishing between the lateral wall or the tiny hair cells as the driver of initial events in age-related hearing loss is an important first step. This would then allow for the development of specific therapies for treatment during the early stages of hearing loss.

And as a PSA, whether you experience hearing loss due to excessive noise exposure, heredity or aging, it’s important to pay attention to early warning signs and act accordingly. Difficulty hearing consonants, asking to repeat what was said or missing your high-pitched ringing alarm clock can all be indications of hearing loss. When in doubt consult with your local otolaryngologist to have your hearing tested. We all would like to continue listening to ocean waves crashing against the shore and jokes from our friends for a lifetime.