19/06/2026
Can a mushroom help you hear better?
That sounds ridiculous, but a fascinating clinical trial investigated exactly that.
Researchers recruited elderly adults with hearing impairment and gave them either a placebo or 2,000mg per day of Lion’s Mane mushroom extract for 8 months.
The results were remarkable.
Compared with the placebo group, participants taking Lion’s Mane demonstrated improvements in hearing ability, including better speech recognition. Researchers also found increases in neurotrophic growth factors, proteins involved in nerve growth, repair, and maintenance.
Now before anyone gets too excited, this was not a cure for hearing loss, and it doesn’t mean everyone who takes Lion’s Mane will experience the same results.
But it does add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that Lion’s Mane may support the nervous system in ways scientists are only beginning to understand.
One important detail: the study used an erinacine A-enriched Lion’s Mane extract, a compound found in Lion’s Mane mycelium that has been studied for its effects on nerve growth factors.
I find this research fascinating because hearing loss affects millions of people worldwide, yet we rarely hear about nutritional approaches that may support hearing health.
Have you or someone you know experienced hearing loss or tinnitus?
📚 Reference:
Chan YC, Lin TC, Chen CC, Lee LY, Chen WP, Liu YZ, Hwang JH. Effects of erinacine A-enriched Hericium erinaceus on elderly hearing-impaired patients: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Journal of Functional Foods. 2022;97:105220.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2022.105220
