Hydrogen Water Protects Hearing from Loud Noise Damage in Study
- Authors
- Ying Lin, Akinori Kashio, Takashi Sakamoto, Keigo Suzukawa, Akinobu Kakigi, Tatsuya Yamasoba
- Journal
- Neuroscience Letters
- Year
- 2011
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.09.064
- Study Type
- Guinea Pig
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
- Body System
- Auditory
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water helped guinea pigs recover better from temporary hearing loss caused by loud noise.
Key Finding
Guinea pigs that consumed hydrogen-enriched water for 14 days showed significantly better hearing recovery after noise exposure compared to controls, with improved hearing thresholds and inner ear hair cell function.
Summary
Researchers gave guinea pigs either regular water or hydrogen-enriched water for two weeks, then exposed them to very loud noise (115 decibels) for 3 hours. They measured hearing function before and after the noise exposure over 14 days. Guinea pigs that drank hydrogen-enriched water recovered their hearing better than those that drank regular water, with improvements in both hearing sensitivity and inner ear cell function.
Practical Takeaway
This animal study suggests hydrogen water may help protect against noise-induced hearing loss by reducing cellular damage from oxidative stress. However, this is early research in guinea pigs only—human studies would be needed to determine if similar benefits apply to people, and the study does not establish whether hydrogen water could prevent hearing loss in everyday noise exposure situations.
Abstract
It has been shown that molecular hydrogen acts as a therapeutic and preventive antioxidant by selectively reducing the hydroxyl radical, the most cytotoxic of the reactive oxygen species. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that acoustic damage in guinea pigs can be attenuated by the consumption of molecular hydrogen. Guinea pigs received normal water or hydrogen-rich water for 14 days before they were exposed to 115 dB SPL 4-kHz octave band noise for 3h. Animals in each group underwent measurements for auditory brainstem response (ABR) or distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) before the treatment (baseline) and immediately, 1, 3, 7, and 14 days after noise exposure. The ABR thresholds at 2 and 4 kHz were significantly better on post-noise days 1, 3, and 14 in hydrogen-treated animals when compared to the normal water-treated controls. Compared to the controls, the hydrogen-treated animals showed greater amplitude of DPOAE input/output growth functions during the recovery process, with statistical significance detected on post-noise days 3 and 7. These findings suggest that hydrogen can facilitate the recovery of hair cell function and attenuate noise-induced temporary hearing loss.