Preventing Hearing Loss and Restoring Hearing: A New Outlook

People with hearing loss represent one of the largest disability groups worldwide, and the prevalence of hearing loss is predicted to rise with an ageing population. Substantial progress has been made towards understanding some of the biological processes involved in the development of hearing impairment as well as therapeutic ways to prevent or mitigate the hearing loss. For example, we now have a better understanding of the maintenance and regeneration of the sensorineural tissues in the cochlea. The sensory hair cells in the cochlea can potentially be regenerated by reactivating genes that control their development, and various types of stem cells can be transformed into sensory hair cells or auditory neurones. In addition, drugs that reduce oxidative stress or prevent apoptosis have been shown to protect hearing from excessive noise and ototoxic drugs. Furthermore, our knowledge of central auditory changes associated with the peripheral injury or auditory processing problems is rapidly increasing.