Treating Hearing Loss with Aldosterone

Doctor evaluating patient before treating hearing loss with aldosterone

Project Summary: Treating Hearing Loss with Aldosterone

Please note: This is an archived project that is not currently being updated.

Aldosterone may be more effective in improving hearing by addressing the underlying cause of vestibular disease than the current treatment with glucocorticoids.

  • Age-related hearing loss  is the number one communication disorder and neurodegenerative disease of older people.
  • One third of people in the United States between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss.
  • Standard treatment involves glucocorticoids (steroids), which have significant side effects.
  • Anti-inflammatory and immune suppression effects of glucocorticoids may not be the best ways to treat hearing loss.
  • Aldosterone is a naturally occurring steroid that influences the transport of sodium and potassium, which are important for hearing. It declines with age.
  • More research and clinical trials are needed to determine if aldosterone supplementation can improve age-related hearing loss.
  • The Parsemus Foundation supports innovative and less invasive methods of treating common human ailments.
  • We urge continued evaluation and randomized clinical trials of aldosterone treatment for hearing and balance disorders.
  • If the positive effect of aldosterone is confirmed, this simple treatment can begin helping the millions of people with hearing loss.

Project Topics

Alternative treatment for hearing loss

Currently there is intriguing data that aldosterone supplementation may improve hearing. For those with hearing loss and balance disorders, this advancement could significantly improve quality of life. Aldosterone does not have the side effects of the current treatment with glucocorticoids (steroids) such as prednisone, prednisolone, and dexamethasone, and may better address the underlying cause of hearing and vestibular disease.

Diagram of human inner ear illustration of treating hearing loss with aldosterone

Steroids may not be the answer

Due to their anti-inflammatory and immune suppressive functions, glucocorticoids have traditionally been used for suspected cases of inner ear inflammation (called immune mediated inner ear disease). Glucocorticoid treatment affects many areas of the body by altering the feedback loop that naturally regulates a person’s glucocorticoid levels, and this imbalance can cause problems. For example, glucocorticoid ear drops greatly decrease natural levels of cortisol (hormones controlling mood and motivation) for as long as a year after treatment.

The status quo has been shaken in recent years due mainly to the work of two researchers in the U.S.: Dennis Trune of the Oregon Health & Science University and Robert Frisina of the University of South Florida. In a 2012 review of corticosteroid treatment for hearing loss and balance disorders, Trune’s evaluation indicated that a number of misconceptions exist regarding the use of steroids. The efficacy of steroid use is uncertain, due to the complicated nature of hearing problems, small sample sizes, spontaneous recovery, and little understanding of the underlying cause of the hearing and vestibular problem. Other studies have questioned the anti-inflammatory and immune suppression role of steroids to treat hearing and balance problems, and indicate that the mechanism of action may actually be sodium ion transport (Trune et al., 2000).

Aldosterone can be beneficial in treating hearing loss

This is where aldosterone comes in. Aldosterone is a naturally-occurring hormone called a mineralocorticoid – a type of steroid – that is produced in the adrenal glands. It influences the transport of sodium and potassium, which are important for hearing. As we age, aldosterone levels usually decrease. Some people also have low aldosterone levels due to other problems.

Frisina and colleagues reported in 2005 that people with normal hearing had significantly higher aldosterone levels than people with presbycusis (age-related hearing loss). The authors concluded that aldosterone may have a protective effect on hearing. Aldosterone has been shown to be effective against Meniere’s disease, which produces excess fluid in the inner ear (Pappas & Banyas, 1991). The combination of synthetic aldosterone (fludrocortisone) and low-dose prednisolone was effective at treating hearing loss in mice (Trune & Kempton, 2010). Thus, aldosterone may be a useful treatment for both immune-mediated and age-related hearing loss.

Aldosterone is not approved to treat hearing loss yet, but evidence is building. A clinical trial using fludrocortisone for sudden hearing loss is being conducted by the Oregon Health and Sciences University. A clinical study by Campos-Banales and colleagues comparing glucocorticoids, fludrocortisone (which affects sodium levels), and vasodilators for the treatment of a specific type of hearing loss (sensorineural hypoacusis) found that hearing gain was most significant with fludrocortisone. In addition, a physician in Washington, Dr. Jonathan Wright, has prescribed aldosterone to patients with low aldosterone levels, but has not published his findings. More information on Dr. Wright’s work can be found in his article “Don’t go deaf, blind, or lose your mind!”

Robert Frisina’s group also has a patent to treat hearing loss using aldosterone, and is working with a pharmaceutical company to license the concept and bring this treatment to market. The Parsemus Foundation urges the completion of randomized clinical trials to better understand if aldosterone supplementation can safely solve age-related hearing loss.

Take Action on Treating Hearing Loss with Aldosterone

Talk to your doctor to diagnose hearing loss. Ask about aldosterone and refer to the scientific publications. Before you start treatment with aldosterone, keep in mind that its function is on sodium and calcium transport, so it may affect blood pressure, and too much increases the risk of stroke. Keeping aldosterone levels within the normal range is thus important and requires monitoring by a physician. Hopefully soon regulators will approve a medication based on aldosterone for hearing loss.

  • Campos-Banales EM, et al. (2015). A comparative study on efficacy of glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids and vasoactive drugs on reversing hearing loss in patients suffering idiopathic sensorineural cochlear hypoacusis. A preliminary clinical trial. Acta Otorrinolaringol Esp. 66:65–73. Free full text in English and Spanish.
  • Frisina RD. (2009). Age-related hearing loss: Ear and brain mechanisms. International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste: Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1170: 708–717. Abstract.
  • Frisina RD. (2012). Hormones and hearing: Too much or too little of a good thing can be ototoxic. Seminars in Hearing 33:231-241. Free full text.
  • Frisina RD, Frisina DR. (2013). Physiological and neurobiological bases of age-related hearing loss: biotherapeutic implications. Am J Audiol. 22(2):299-302. Abstract.
  • Frisina RD et al., (2016). Age-related hearing loss: prevention of threshold declines, cell loss and apoptosis in spiral ganglion neurons. Aging (Albany NY). 8(9):2081-2099. Free full text.
  • Frisina RD, Walton JP, Ding B, Zhu X. Hormone Treatment for Age-Related Hearing Loss- Presbycusis. United States Patent No. 10,342,806 (July 9, 2019).
  • Halonen J et al., (2016). Long-term treatment with aldosterone slows the progression of age-related hearing loss. Hear Res. 336:63-71. Abstract.
  • Pappas DG, Banyas JB. (1991). A newly recognized etiology of Meniere’s syndrome. A preliminary report. Acta OtolaryngolSuppl 485:104–107. Abstract.
  • Trune DR, Canlon B. (2012). Corticosteroid therapy for hearing and balance disorders. Anatomical Rec. 295:1928-1943. Free full text.
  • Trune DR, Kempton JB. (2010). Low dose combination steroids control autoimmune mouse hearing loss. J. Neuroimmunol 229(1-2):140-145. Free full text.
  • Trune DR, Kempton JB, Kessi M. (2000). Aldosterone (mineralocorticoid) equivalent to prednisolone (glucocorticoid) in reversing hearing loss in MRL/MpJ-FASlpr autoimmune mice. Laryngoscope 110:1902-1906. Free full text.

Human Health News

Niacin and chilblains

If you have been diagnosed with chilblains, you know how painful they can be during cold weather. Niacin may provide some relief and may even

Read More

Niacin and chilblains

If you have been diagnosed with chilblains, you know how painful they can be during cold weather. Niacin may provide some relief and may even

Read More
We’re sorry, you are not eligible for the nationwide COVID-OUT or ACTIV-6 studies, but you may be eligible for other federal trials:

And if you don’t find a match there, this slightly more complex clinical trials finder includes studies sponsored by companies as well:

Trials Today