Deafness News and Research

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Gene editing shows promise to help people at risk of hearing loss

Gene editing could someday help people at risk of hearing loss from genetic mutations, according to research by a new Rice University faculty member.

20 Dec 2017

Study finds new way to explain hearing loss caused by cancer drug

Scientists have found a new way to explain the hearing loss caused by cisplatin, a powerful drug used to treat many forms of cancer. Using a highly sensitive technique to measure and map cisplatin in mouse and human inner ear tissues, researchers found that forms of cisplatin build up in the inner ear.

20 Dec 2017

New treatments may soon transform lives of people with hearing loss

Charity Action on Hearing Loss has released its latest update on the progress that it is making to accelerate the development of technology and treatments for people living with deafness, tinnitus and hearing loss.

13 Dec 2017

Study uses NHS data to estimate incidence of brain injury in babies

New research has estimated that each year five babies in every 1,000 born in England suffer a condition or sign linked to brain injury.

28 Nov 2017

Study shows promise and potential risk in reversing hearing loss using inner ear stem cells

Want to restore hearing by injecting stem cells into the inner ear? Well, that can be a double-edged sword.

7 Nov 2017

Study solves critical piece of deafness puzzle by identifying long non-coding RNAs

A new Tel Aviv University study solves a critical piece of the puzzle of human deafness by identifying the first group of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the auditory system.

2 Nov 2017

Research advance may lead to preservation of hearing in people with Usher syndrome type III

A research advance co-led by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's Kumar Alagramam, PhD, may stop the progression of hearing loss and lead to significant preservation of hearing in people with Usher syndrome type III, a form of hereditary hearing loss linked to defects in the sensory "hair" cells in the inner ear. USH3 is caused by a mutation in the clarin-1 gene.

26 Oct 2017

Brain-training could help elderly people increase their understanding of words in noisy situations

For many people with hearing challenges, trying to follow a conversation in a crowded restaurant or other noisy venue is a major struggle, even with hearing aids. Now, Mass. Eye and Ear researchers reporting in Current Biology on October 19th have some good news: time spent playing a specially designed, brain-training audiogame could help.

19 Oct 2017

Researchers identify genes crucial for hearing

Fifty-two previously unidentified genes that are critical for hearing have been found by testing over 3,000 mouse genes.

12 Oct 2017

New report highlights need to screen children with reading difficulties for hearing problems

Children with reading difficulties should be more thoroughly screened for hearing problems, a new report by Coventry University academics has said.

6 Oct 2017

Researchers use gene therapy to restore hearing and balance in mouse model of Usher syndrome

Hearing loss, sometimes associated with other disorders such as balance defects, is the most common sensory deficit, affecting more than 280 million people worldwide, according to WHO. In France, one child in 700 is born with severe or profound hearing loss, and one in every 1,000 will lose their sense of hearing before adulthood.

22 Sep 2017

Scientists take important step toward gene therapy for deaf patients

Scientists at Oregon State University have taken an important step toward gene therapy for deaf patients by developing a way to better study a large protein essential for hearing and finding a truncated version of it.

19 Sep 2017

IUPUI cell biologist receives $1.9 million grant to tackle age-related hearing loss

Cell biologist Benjamin J. Perrin of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is advancing knowledge of age-related hearing loss with the goal of informing possible therapeutic cell-regeneration approaches to the often-debilitating problem.

14 Sep 2017

TSRI scientists find new approach to reprogram ordinary adult cells into IPSCs

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found a new approach to the "reprogramming" of ordinary adult cells into stem cells.

12 Sep 2017

Mild pain killer blocks action of key protein required for hearing

A Rice University study has found that the aspirin-like drug diflunisal blocks the action of prestin, a key protein that is required for hearing.

5 Sep 2017

Olfactory tissue regeneration requires inflammatory processes that create loss of smell

In a mouse study designed to understand how chronic inflammation in sinusitis damages the sense of smell, scientists at Johns Hopkins say they were surprised to learn that the regeneration of olfactory tissue requires some of the same inflammatory processes and chemicals that create injury and loss of smell in the first place.

30 Aug 2017

Scientists identify key compound that reduces severity of AMD in preclinical model

A compound of specific bioactive products from a major family of enzymes reduced the severity of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a preclinical model, according to a new study led by Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers.

22 Aug 2017

Researchers present novel gene-editing technique to prevent retinal angiogenesis

A research team from the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear has successfully prevented mice from developing angiogenesis of the retina--the sensory tissue at the back of the eye--using gene-editing techniques with CRISPR-Cas9.

25 Jul 2017

Established therapeutic drugs may be effective against childhood dementia

Although dementia is most often seen in adults, childhood or adolescent dementia does occur. A team of researchers from the University of Würzburg believes that established therapeutic drugs might be effective against childhood dementia.

24 Jul 2017

Study sheds light on how key protein allows hearing to work

Although the basic outlines of human hearing have been known for years – sensory cells in the inner ear turn sound waves into the electrical signals that the brain understands as sound – the molecular details have remained elusive.

29 Jun 2017