New research suggests hearing loss may be reversible
22 Jul 2016
A Dutch company called Audion Therapeutics aims to address the slow degeneration of hearing capacity in humans, according to a new article published in The Atlantic.
The biggest hope is that humans, with the help of a new drug, would be able to re-grow sensory hair cells, something animals like fish and birds already had the capability of doing.
Currently, the tiny human hair, responsible for human hearing do not regenerate once they are damaged, and over a third of seniors suffer from some form of hearing loss because of it. Apart from using hearing aid, there is currently no way to recover that hearing.
According to Dr Albert Edge who works for Audion Therapeutics, the key to restoring hearing was a ''notch inhibitor'' molecule, which Audion's research had show gave rise to new hair cells in lab cultures.
Researchers hope that a successful drug based on this molecule could eventually be developed. The drug would be applied to the middle ear via a foam or tube, and once-damaged hair would then naturally grow back.
