The type of hearing loss known as “sensorineural” is a result of inner ear or auditory nerve dysfunction. This is due in part to damage of the tiny “hair cells” that reside within the cochlea. These sensory receptors convert sound waves into electrical signals that are transmitted through the acoustic nerve to the brain. However, once hair cells become damaged by loud noises, they are unable to regenerate themselves. As a result, hearing loss that is associated with hair cell death is permanent. While hearing aids can effectively assist in the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss, researchers continue to search for a way to regrow hair cells once they are damaged. Two studies, that are currently underway, involve injecting experimental medicines into the ear with the intention of repairing the damage that causes hearing loss.
P.S. Researchers are hoping one of the experimental drugs that will regenerate hair cells is a treatment codenamed FX-322. This drug stimulates progenitor cells to grow into healthy hair cells.
Hearing loss varies by cause, type, and degree. Its effects can be due to disease, a noisy environment, the ageing process, or can even be heredity. A Doctor of Audiology will be able to find the most appropriate solution to your particular hearing impairment. This column is presented to educate the public on hearing loss and its effects. It is also meant to inform the millions of men, women, and children with hearing problems that help is available. Don’t suffer in a world of silence; instead, have your hearing tested at EAR & HEARING CLINIC. While you’re here, we’d like to introduce you the Lyric® Hearing Aid, one of the most amazing hearing instruments on the market today.
