Say what? Take a pill for Baby Boomer hearing loss?

September 14, 12:11 PMBaby Boomer ExaminerPaul Briand

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What's that?

 A new medication claims to help hearing-impaired Baby Boomers.

EarAid is described in a press release as an anti-oxidant dietary supplement that treats tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the inner ear that is sometimes associated with hearing loss.

The supplement contains the following ingredients: Acetyl L-Carnitine, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Butchers Broom, Co-enzyme Q-10, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Methyl Cobalamin, N Acetyl Cystein, Reservatrol, Selinium Antioxidant, Vinpocetine, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B6 and Zinc.

EarAid's creator, Los Angeles-based Dr. Murray Grossman, says on its web site that the ingredients work together to "neutralize and remove products of oxidation, products which can interfere with hearing function."

The formula, he said, improves ear function as well as lessens ringing in the ears by directly nourishing the ear, nerves and brain.

WebMD says 14 percent of all adults between the ages of 46 and 64 have some kind of measurable hearing loss.

"Moreover,” says WebMD, "the percentage has grown as baby boomers have aged. Between 1971 and 1990, the number of people between the ages of 46 and 64 with hearing loss increased 26%, and the number between the ages of 18 and 44 increased 17%, according to the National Health Interview Survey."

Hearing loss, however, has a wide range of culprits not just the tinnitus that EarAid claims to help.

Physical wear and tear (from prolonged exposure to loud music, for instance) can physically impair the ear's ability to function by harming sensitive hair cells, which move as sound waves travel through the ear structures; the movement is then converted to nerve impulses that are interpreted by the brain as sound. The damage often affects the ear's ability to hear the the full range of sounds

For most, the solution to hearing loss is a hearing aid. Baby Boomer vanity resisted the notion of the classic hearing aids, the bulky devices that resemble a foam packing peanut stuffed inside the ear.

Digital technology has pushed the design of newer hearing aids to a point where they are barely visible and do a better job than the analog peanuts of capturing a broader range of hearing and tone. Analog devices basically amplify sound into the ear; the digital devices can isolate different types of sounds and make adjustments accordingly.