Do you spend much time thinking about your nervous system? For the majority of people, the answer would most likely be not very frequently. As long as your body is working in the way that it should, you have no reason to think about how your neurons are firing or whether nerves are sending correct messages along the electrical pathways of your body. But you tend to pay more attention when something fails and the nerves begin to misfire.
One specific disease known as Charot-Marie-Tooth Disease which generally affects the extremities can also have a pretty wide-scale affect on the whole nervous system. high-frequency hearing loss can also be the result of CMT according to some research.
Charot-Marie-Tooth Disease, What is it?
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a set of inherited conditions. Essentially, these genetic disorders cause something to go wrong with your nerves or with the protective sheathing surrounding your nerves.
There is a problem with how signals travel between your brain and your nerves. A loss of motor function and sensation can be the result.
A mix of genetic elements usually leads to the expression of symptoms, so CMT can be found in a few variations. Symptoms of CMT normally begin in the feet and work their way up to the arms. And, oddly, among those who have CMT, there is a higher rate of occurrence of high-frequency hearing loss.
A Link Between Loss of Hearing And CMT: The Cochlear Nerve
There’s always been an anecdotal connection between hearing loss and CMT (meaning that within the CMT culture everybody has heard others talk about it). And it was tough to grasp the connection between loss of sensation in the legs and problems with the ears.
A scientific study firmly established the connection just recently when a group of researchers evaluated 79 people with CMT at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
The results were rather decisive. Nearly everyone with CMT passed their low and moderate frequency hearing tests with flying colors. But high-frequency sounds (in the moderate region particularly) were easily heard by all of the participants. Based on this study, it seems probable that CMT can at least be associated with high-frequency loss of hearing.
The Cause of Hearing Loss and How to Deal With It
The link between high-frequency hearing loss and CMT could, at first, seem perplexing. But all of your body, from your toes to your eyebrows, relies on the proper functioning of nerves. Your ears are no different.
The theory is, CMT affects the cochlear nerve so noises in the high-frequency range aren’t able to be interpreted. Anyone with this type of hearing loss will have difficulty hearing certain sounds, including voices. Particularly, understand voices in crowded and noisy rooms can be a real challenge.
This type of hearing loss is commonly treated with hearing aids. There’s no recognized cure for CMT. Modern hearing aids can provide tremendous assistance in terms of combating the effects of high-frequency hearing loss, selecting only those ranges of sounds to boost. The majority of modern hearing aids can also perform well in loud settings.
Multiple Factors Behind Hearing Loss
Researchers still aren’t entirely sure why CMT and loss of hearing seem to co-exist quite so often (above and beyond their untested theory). But this type of hearing loss can be effectively treated using hearing aids. So scheduling an appointment to get fitted for hearing aids will be a good choice for people who suffer from CMT.
There are numerous causes for hearing loss symptoms. In some cases, loss of hearing is triggered by excessive exposure to harmful sounds. In other situations, loss of hearing could be the consequence of an obstruction. It also appears that CMT is another possible cause.