Hydrogen Gas Protects Inner Ear Cells from Damage

Breathing hydrogen gas can protect the delicate cells in the inner ear that help with balance from damage caused by harmful molecules produced during stress.

Hydrogen gas preserved both the structure and function of vestibular hair cells when exposed to oxidative stress in laboratory conditions.

Researchers tested whether hydrogen gas could protect delicate hair cells in the inner ear (which help with balance and hearing) from damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals. Using mouse cells in a laboratory dish, they found that hydrogen gas preserved the structure of these hair cells and maintained their ability to function when exposed to a substance that creates free radicals. Hydrogen also reduced markers of oxidative stress (cellular damage from free radicals) in the inner ear tissue.

This early laboratory study suggests hydrogen may have potential to protect inner ear cells from damage, but it was conducted in mouse cells in a dish, not in living animals or humans. Much more research would be needed to determine whether these findings apply to actual hearing or balance problems in people, or whether dissolved hydrogen in water would be effective.

Hydrogen gas effectively protected against the morphological and functional vestibular hair cell damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are generally produced by oxidative stress. In the inner ear, ROS levels increase as a result of noise trauma and ototoxic drugs and induce damage. It…

Read the full abstract on PubMed