Hearing Loss: The Time of Day Matters More Than You Think

Researchers have found that the time of day can make a big difference in how badly noise hurts your hearing. They looked at cells in the inner ear and found that immune cells called macrophages play a big role in this. When the ear is exposed to loud noises, these macrophages get more active, especially at night. This leads to more inflammation and damage. The study showed that when these macrophages were removed, hearing got better. The researchers also found that a specific pathway, called the NLRP3 inflammasome, gets turned on more at night. This pathway is linked to inflammation and cell damage. When they blocked this pathway with a drug, it helped protect the ear and kept hearing from getting worse. This study shows that the body's natural clock, or circadian rhythm, can affect how much damage loud noises do to the ear. It also suggests that targeting this pathway could be a way to protect hearing from loud noises.