Multitarget protection by Chinese herbal medicines against sensorineural hearing loss: a focus on oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation.

Authors

Yu Tian, Aiping Wang, Hui Leng

Published in

Frontiers in medicine. Volume 13. Pages 1785210. Epub Mar 20, 2026.

Abstract

Based on the molecular mechanisms of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), this study aims to explore the role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of SNHL, promote the development of deafness-related research, provide new insights for the formulation and medication of TCM in the treatment of SNHL, and further facilitate the better development of new drugs for clinical application.
Relevant literatures on sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and its treatment with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) were reviewed. The pathogenesis of SNHL and the related research achievements of TCM in treating this disease were sorted out, and the existing research conclusions were analyzed and summarized.
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a type of hearing impairment mainly caused by damage to cochlear hair cells, spiral neurons, and/or the auditory center, including drug-induced deafness, noise-induced deafness, and age-related deafness. Its molecular mechanisms mainly involve apoptosis, oxidative stress injury, immune inflammation, and metabolic disorders. Due to the irreversibility (non-regeneration) of hair cells and spiral neurons, there is currently no effective treatment for hearing loss caused by such damage. In recent years, the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat hearing disorders by regulating the above-mentioned molecular mechanisms has gradually become a research hotspot, and a large number of studies have confirmed that TCM exhibits significant efficacy in hearing treatment.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can exert a therapeutic effect on hearing by regulating the core molecular mechanisms of SNHL (such as apoptosis and oxidative stress injury) and has significant application potential. The discussion in this article can provide a new direction for the formulation and medication of TCM in the treatment of SNHL, and has positive significance for promoting the development of deafness research and the research and development of new clinical drugs.

PMID:
41939745
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Sep 2026.

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