aldosterone: the hearing hormone

Filed in archive Studies on February 12, 2006

Loss of hearing is directly proportional to aging and this is due to a hormone called aldosterone that adjust levels of key brain chemicals to the quality of our hearing.

Aldosterone is also known to regulate kidney function and plays a role in controlling levels of two crucial signaling chemicals in the nervous system, potassium and sodium.

A team of scientists in Rochester, N.Y. found that people with severe hearing loss had on average about half as much aldosterone in their bloodstream as their counterparts with normal hearing.

The researchers noted, however, that the levels of aldosterone found in all the participants is considered normal, and that no patients or physicians should consider altering aldosterone levels without more research.