How frequently do you think about your nervous system? For the majority of individuals, the answer would probably be not that often. As long as your body is working in the way that it should, you have no reason to consider how your neurons are firing or whether nerves are sending correct messages along the electrical corridors of your body. But when those nerves begin to misfire – that is when something goes wrong – you begin to pay much more attention to your nervous system.
One particular disease called Charot-Marie-Tooth Disease which generally affects the extremities can also have a fairly wide-scale affect on the overall nervous system. And there’s some evidence that implies that CMT can also lead to high-frequency hearing loss.
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 disorder.
There is a problem with the way signals travel between your brain and your nerves. A loss of motor function and sensation can be the outcome.
CMT can be found in a number of varieties and a mixture of genetic factors usually lead to its expressions. Symptoms of CMT commonly begin in the feet and go up to the arms. And, high-frequency hearing loss, oddly, has a high rate of occurrence in those with CMT.
The Cochlear Nerve: A Link Between CMT and Hearing Loss
The connection between CMT and hearing loss has always been colloquially supported (that is, everyone knows somebody who has a story about it – at least inside of the CMT culture). And it was hard to realize the link between loss of sensation in the legs and problems with the ears.
The connection was firmly established by a scientific study just recently when a group of scientists examined 79 people with CMT at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
The findings were quite conclusive. Low to moderate frequencies were heard very nearly perfectly by those who had CMT. But high-frequency sounds (in the moderate region particularly) were effortlessly heard by all of the participants. high-frequency hearing loss, according to this research, is likely to be connected to CMT.
What is The Cause of Hearing Loss And How Can it be Treated?
At first, it might be puzzling to attempt to recognize the link between high-frequency hearing loss and CMT. Like every other part of your body relies on correctly functioning nerves. Your ears are the same.
The theory is, CMT impacts the cochlear nerve so noises in the high-frequency range aren’t able to be translated. Certain sounds, including some voices, will be hard to hear. Particularly, understand voices in crowded and noisy rooms can be a real obstacle.
This form of hearing loss is normally managed with hearing aids. CMT has no known cure. Modern hearing aids can select the precise frequencies to amplify which can offer appreciable assistance in combating high-frequency hearing loss. Additionally, most modern hearing aids can be calibrated to work well in noisy environments.
Hearing Loss Can Have A Number of Causes
Researchers still aren’t completely 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 successfully addressed using hearing aids. That’s why lots of people with CMT will make time to sit down with a hearing professional and get fitted for a custom hearing aid.
There are a variety of causes for hearing loss symptoms. Frequently, it’s a matter of loud noise contributing to injury to the ears. In other cases, hearing loss might be the consequence of an obstruction. It appears that CMT can be still another cause of hearing loss.