Hearing Health Supplement Addresses Multiple Conditions

Editor: Several companies have been working on treatments for various aspects of hearing loss. Now Premier Micronutrient Corporation (PMC) has released a supplement that targets many common hearing loss-related conditions. Here's the press release.

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October 2007

Premier Micronutrient Corporation (PMC), Nashville, Tenn, announces the launch of a Hearing Health micronutrient supplement designed to reduce tinnitus (ringing in the ear) and provide cellular protection against hearing impairment and balance disorders. Previously available only to scientific study participants and members of the US military, the Hearing Health formulation is now available to a general consumer audience through hearing health professionals and the PMC Web site at www.premiermicronutrient.com.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), approximately 28 million Americans have some level of hearing impairment due to the combined effects of noise, aging, disease, and heredity, making hearing damage a societal problem. Approximately 10% of Americans ages 22-60 already may have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive noise exposure; millions more are at risk due to the growing popularity of activities such as NASCAR races and repeated exposure to loud music and industrial noise.

The formulation was evaluated in collaboration with the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Calif, where US Marine personnel with balance disorders from blast-related head injuries sustained in Iraq are treated in the Center's Spatial Orientation Center. The study included several measuring techniques for hearing and balance performance, including sensory organization, dynamic gait index, and balance confidence. Clinical findings indicate that patients receiving the PMC formulation in addition to standard therapy performed better on all measures than those receiving standard therapy alone.

"Results from our work with the Naval Medical Center were extremely encouraging and further validated the many years of research we have committed to developing micronutrient antioxidant supplements that decrease oxidative damage caused by hazardous environmental exposures," says Kedar N. Prasad, PhD, PMC chief scientific officer who is also a former professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver and is a longstanding investigator for the NIH.

"Perhaps even more exciting are the individual experiences we've heard from countless patients who have experienced real, measurable and sustained improvement with their hearing and balance issues," says Prasad.

Along with the launch of the Hearing Health formulation, PMC has joined forces with The EAR Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public and medical profession about hearing loss and diseases of the ear. In addition to nationwide education and outreach efforts, the foundation sponsors basic and clinical research into hearing and balance disorders and provides practicing ear specialists with continuing medical education opportunities and programs regarding rehabilitation and hearing preservation.

"This is the first micronutrient supplement ever to be accepted by this foundation in its 36-year history," says audiologist Ann B. Sitton, MS, a board member of The Ear Foundation. "We carefully researched this product, met with the scientists who developed it, and reviewed their studies and client testimonials. We were consistently impressed and greatly encouraged by their findings. As an audiologist, I am excited with the potential that this supplement will provide relief to our patients with chronic tinnitus and other hearing and balance impairments. We look forward to opening a new frontier for the hearing impaired."