Do you spend much time thinking about your nervous system? For most people, the answer would probably be not very often. Usually, you wouldn’t have to worry about how your neurons are sending signals to the nerves of your body. But when those nerves start to misfire – that is when something isn’t working properly – you tend to pay much more attention to your nervous system.
One distinct disease known as Charot-Marie-Tooth Disease that normally affects the extremities can also have a pretty wide-scale impact on the entire nervous system. And there’s some evidence to suggest that CMT can also lead to high-frequency loss of hearing.
Charot-Marie-Tooth Disease, What is it?
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a set of inherited conditions. The protective sheathing around the nerves malfunction due to a genetic disorder.
There is a problem with how signals move between your brain and your nerves. A loss in motor function and sensation can be the result.
CMT can be found in several variations and a mixture of genetic considerations usually result in its expressions. Symptoms of CMT usually start in the feet and work their way up to the arms. And, high-frequency hearing loss, curiously, has a high rate of occurrence among those who have CMT.
A Link Between Loss of Hearing And CMT: The Cochlear Nerve
There has always been an anecdotal link between loss of hearing and CMT (meaning that within the CMT culture everybody has heard others tell stories about it). And it was tough to recognize 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 researchers examined 79 people with CMT at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
The findings were rather decisive. Low to moderate frequencies were heard almost perfectly by those who had CMT. But high-frequency sounds (in the moderate region particularly) were easily heard by all of the participants. According to this research, it seems pretty likely that CMT can at least be associated with high-frequency hearing loss.
The Cause of Hearing Loss and How to Treat It
At first, it could be perplexing to try to figure out the link between high-frequency hearing loss and CMT. Like every other part of your body relies on properly functioning nerves. Your ears are exactly the same.
The hypothesis is, CMT impacts the cochlear nerve so sounds in the high-frequency range aren’t able to be interpreted. Some sounds, including some voices, will be difficult to hear. Particularly, understand voices in crowded and noisy rooms can be a real challenge.
Hearing aids are commonly used to deal with this form of hearing loss. There’s no recognized cure for CMT. Modern hearing aids can select the exact frequencies to boost which can provide appreciable help in combating high-frequency hearing loss. Most modern hearing aids can also perform well in loud environments.
There Could be Numerous Causes For Hearing Loss
Experts still aren’t entirely sure why CMT and loss of hearing seem to co-exist quite so frequently (above and beyond their untested theory). But this form of hearing loss can be efficiently managed with hearing aids. So making an appointment to get fitted for hearing aids will be a good choice for individuals who have CMT.
There are a range of causes for hearing loss symptoms. In many instances, loss of hearing is brought about by excessive exposure to harmful sounds. Blockages can be yet another cause. It turns out that CMT can be still another cause of loss of hearing.