Dr. Konstantina Stankovic

They're not protecting you.

So that's one thing that you could do.

Another thing that you can do is take magnesium before going to a loud concert.

And this is because studies have shown that magnesium can protect against noise-induced hearing loss.

And the studies were done in countries where they have mandatory military service.

And they literally grouped people into those who received magnesium before those exercises and those who didn't.

And everybody was exposed to the same artillery and explosions as a part of preparation.

Those who took magnesium beforehand had less hearing loss.

Also, what measurements have shown in animal models is that after noise trauma is the levels of magnesium that change the most in the cochlea, in the organ of hearing, more than any other ion that's been studied.

And also what large-scale human population studies have shown is that those with higher magnesium serum levels or higher magnesium intake tend to have better hearing.

However, that needs to be further studied and replicated because the precise dose is really not known or the formulation.

Because as you know, there are many different kinds of magnesium and magnesium is good for your whole body, but depending on the formulation,

it may be better for the gut versus the musculoskeletal system versus the brain.

And different formulations have been studied in different scenarios.

What we now think is that magnesium threonate is most efficient in crossing the blood-brain barrier, so we think it's probably the best for hearing protection, but that study is yet to be conducted.

I think it's probably both at both levels.

And by the way, going back to supplementation, really the best way is to have a healthy diet.

And numerous studies have shown is that what we absorb through a healthy diet is better than supplementation.

And supplements are not really strictly regulated in the way that other prescription medications are.

So what the label says on a box could be all over the map.