Do you spend much time thinking about your nervous system? For most individuals, the answer would probably be not that often. As long as your body is working in the way that it is supposed to, you’ve no reason to consider how your neurons are firing or whether nerves are sending proper messages through the electrical corridors of your body. But you tend to take a closer look when something fails and the nerves begin to misfire.
There’s one particular condition, known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, which can influence the nervous system on a relatively large scale, though the symptoms usually manifest chiefly in the extremities. And there’s some evidence that implies that CMT can also cause high-frequency loss of hearing.
Charot-Marie-Tooth Disease, What is it?
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a set of inherited disorders. The protective sheathing surrounding the nerves malfunction due to a genetic condition.
There is a problem with how impulses move between your brain and your nerves. A loss in motor function and sensation can be the result.
A mixture of genetic factors typically results in the appearance of symptoms, so CMT can be found in a number of variations. For many people who have CMT, symptoms start in the feet and can work their way up into their arms. And, strangely, among those who have CMT, there is a higher rate of occurrence of high-frequency hearing loss.
A Link Between Hearing Loss And CMT: The Cochlear Nerve
There’s always been an anecdotal link between hearing loss and CMT (which means that inside of the CMT culture everyone has heard others tell stories about it). And it was hard to grasp the connection between loss of sensation in the legs and issues with the ears.
A scientific study firmly established the connection just recently when a group of scientists examined 79 people with CMT at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
The results were rather conclusive. Low to moderate frequencies were heard nearly perfectly by those with CMT. But high-frequency sounds (in the moderate region particularly) were easily heard by all of the individuals. high-frequency hearing loss, according to this study, is likely to be connected to CMT.
The Cause of Hearing Loss and How to Deal With It
At first, it could be perplexing to try to figure out the connection between high-frequency hearing loss and CMT. Like all other parts of your body rely on properly functioning nerves. Your ears are exactly the same.
What most researchers hypothesize happens is that the cochlear nerve is affected by the CMT – disrupting your ear’s ability to translate and convey sounds in a high-frequency range. Certain sounds, including some voices, will be hard to hear. Particularly, understand voices in crowded or noisy rooms can be a tangible obstacle.
Hearing aids are commonly used to manage this type of hearing loss. CMT has no known cure. Modern hearing aids can offer tremendous help in terms of combating the effects of high-frequency hearing loss, isolating only those ranges of sounds to amplify. In addition, most modern hearing aids can be calibrated to work well within noisy conditions.
There Can be Many Causes For Hearing Loss
Further than the unconfirmed hypothesis, it’s still not well understood what the link between CMT and high-frequency hearing loss. But this type of hearing loss can be efficiently treated using hearing aids. That’s why lots of individuals with CMT will take the time to get a consultation with a hearing care professional and get a fitting for a custom hearing aid.
Hearing loss symptoms can arise for a number of reasons. In many situations, loss of hearing is caused by excessive exposure to damaging noises. Blockages can be yet another cause. It also looks as if CMT is another possible cause.