Mushrooms for hearing? Any experience good or bad with them?

OK, I've had hearing loss for years, and it got worse around the time I got COVID.

I work in the fantasy world, so I read about real things to relax. Mostly science based, but for laypeople. Slime mold, sea life, astronomy, volcanoes, wildlife, and the things that popular science publications point out.

I bought a book on mushrooms. One chapter has information on how certain mushrooms can change the host that eats them. Some for better, some for worse. Some mushrooms can take over the central nervous system of an insect that makes it do things it would not do, but helps the mushroom. Some can cure humans of PTSD and other afflictions.

One good is that psilocybin can possibly restore hearing in certain circumstances.

I did a lot of research on the web, and it seems if it's not hair cell damage, but nerve connections, it might work. Experiments with mice are positive, and anecdotal reports from humans seem like it can, but doesn't always work. I know, everything on the 'net has to be suspect.

I'm a musician, and I've always protected my ears so probably not hair cells. The first event was an allergic reaction to dust mites that took too much time and damage to determine, the second time, decades later, was COVID.

Of course, psilocybin is illegal here in the USA, so I'm definitely not about to break the law. I'm too old to go through that hassle, and I don't want to go to jail.

It seems one dose can provide new nerve connections thanks to the mushrooms.

But for a few hundred dollars, plus airfare, I could go somewhere and do it legally. Costa Rica is close.

On the other hand, I don't want to waste the money. I've been to Costa Rica, and as nice as it was, been there - done that.

But if it works, it's worth it. I can still hear pitches and do my job playing music, but if someone comes up in the noisy environment and requests a song or just want to say something to me, I can't make out what they are saying. So yes, I'm desperate, and willing to try something as long as it won't hurt me.

Questions:

Does anyone know about this?

Has anyone tried it? If so, did it work?

Find a cow pasture after a rain.

Stay safe.

By the way, it didn't help my hearing after a few tries.

Speedy, normally I'd agree with you. But since it's illegal in the USA, and has been since the 1970s, there aren't many people who are able to try it.

I didn't go looking for this, but I was a reading a book about fungi, and it's association with plants and algae starting with the first forms of life that came out of the sea millions of years ago. Much later I got to how fungi affect animals for death or benefit. PTSD, Depression, and others were just touched on, including hearing. Supposedly one trip can re-wire your central nervous system to help, if you use the right mushrooms, or harm you if you use the wrong ones.

So I've been digging in the Internet. I know I can't believe it all but certain sites seem more trustworthy (like NIH). It seems it depends on what damaged your ears.

Many sites say that certain illness damage, but not all, more likely than hair cell damage. At least in mice. In humans it's harder to tell.

As a musician, I've always used ear protection. A misdiagnosed allergy took the first bite out of my hearing, but it was manageable. Then COVID took being able to understand people in even a slightly noisy environment away. This hampers my ability to make a living.

That's why I wondered if anyone here tried it.

I'm not getting my hopes up. But if I can do it as an add-on to a vacation for a few hundred dollars, it might be worth the try.

And if it doesn't work, I still get a psychedelic trip, something I haven't done since I was a hippie, when it was legal in the USA. So it doesn't become a total loss.

A lot of people go overseas for the psychedelic trip alone.

It's a shame in a supposedly free country, I can't try this with doctor's supervision and RX. But there are also benefits to living here, and I'm not thinking about moving.

If it does help and a hearing test by my audi proves it, I'll let you all know.

Hey Bobby, I used shrooms (but I'm not an US citizen) and haven't noticed any change. For completeness, I seem to have a hair cell issue.

I'm quite experienced with all things neural change and psilocybin induced change is definitely possible if one is ready to face the shadow. This could lead to reverse of physical damage. But you have to find a good shaman or therapist.