Resveratrol, a compound found largely in the skins of red grapes, may protect an individual against hearing and cognitive loss, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital (HFH) in Detroit.

The study was conducted by administering resveratrol in healthy rats and then exposing them to loud noises for a long period of time.

It was found that the healthy rats are less likely to suffer from the long-term effects of noise-induced hearing loss.

HFH department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery otologic/neurotologic surgery division director and study lead author Michael Seidman said their study was based on resveratrol and its effect on bioinflammation.

"Resveratrol is a very powerful chemical that seems to protect against the body’s inflammatory process as it relates to aging, cognition and hearing loss," Seidman added.

The study was mainly designed to identify the effect of resveratrol on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein expression and formation of reactive oxygen species, which plays an important role in cell signaling and homeostasis.

The study found that acoustic overstimulation causes a time-depended, up-regulation of COX-2 protein expression and resveratrol significantly reduces reactive oxygen species formation and inhibits COX-2 expression and reduces noise-induced hearing loss following noise exposure in rats.

These findings show that resveratrol can help an individual from noise-induced hearing loss by inhibiting COX-2 protein.

Seidman added that they have proved that the amount of hearing and cognitive loss can be reduced in the animals through resveratrol.