Cha Yoo Jin, Yeo Joon Hyung, Kim Sung Soo, Lee Jae Min, Oh Yeon Ju, Yon Dong Keon, Yeo Seung Geun
Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
Public Health Center, Danyang-gun 27010, Republic of Korea.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Aug 29;26(17):8416. doi: 10.3390/ijms26178416.
The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the onset and pathogenesis of hearing loss remains a matter of debate. To address this, we conducted a narrative review of the literature on the subject. We performed a literature search of SCOPUS, PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases on the production and role of NO in hearing loss using the search terms/strategy "nitric oxide" AND "hearing loss" to ensure a comprehensive review of available studies. Results: Of 186 papers initially retrieved, 166 were unrelated to hearing loss and NO and were excluded. Of the 23 papers ultimately reviewed, 58% (12 articles) reported that NO caused or worsened hearing loss, 26% (5 articles) reported a beneficial effect of NO in the treatment of and/or defense against hearing loss, and 16% (3 articles) reached no firm conclusion on whether NO played a positive or negative role. This review highlights the dual role of NO in auditory health, where it is essential for normal cochlear function through regulation of blood flow and neurotransmission. However, excessive or dysregulated NO production, particularly via inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), can lead to oxidative stress and hearing loss. Conversely, NO also exhibits protective effects in certain contexts, such as reducing noise-induced hearing damage through its antioxidant properties. These findings underscore the potential of NO modulation as a therapeutic strategy for hearing loss, emphasizing the need for further research to optimize its application and understand the conditions under which it is beneficial or harmful.
一氧化氮（NO）在听力损失的发生和发病机制中的作用仍存在争议。为了解决这一问题，我们对该主题的文献进行了叙述性综述。我们使用搜索词/策略“一氧化氮”和“听力损失”，在SCOPUS、PubMed、Cochrane图书馆、EMBASE和谷歌学术数据库中对一氧化氮在听力损失中的产生和作用进行了文献检索，以确保对现有研究进行全面综述。结果：在最初检索到的186篇论文中，166篇与听力损失和一氧化氮无关，被排除在外。在最终审查的23篇论文中，58%（12篇文章）报告一氧化氮导致或加重听力损失，26%（5篇文章）报告一氧化氮在治疗和/或预防听力损失方面具有有益作用，16%（3篇文章）对一氧化氮是起积极还是消极作用没有得出明确结论。本综述强调了一氧化氮在听觉健康中的双重作用，它通过调节血流和神经传递对正常耳蜗功能至关重要。然而，一氧化氮的过度产生或调节异常，特别是通过诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS），可导致氧化应激和听力损失。相反，一氧化氮在某些情况下也表现出保护作用，例如通过其抗氧化特性减少噪声引起的听力损伤。这些发现强调了调节一氧化氮作为听力损失治疗策略的潜力，强调需要进一步研究以优化其应用并了解其有益或有害的条件。
