Hearing loss: Gene therapy in mice offers new hope

What's the news: An injectable gene therapy regrew hair cells in the inner ears of mice.

Why should we believe it: This news comes from a study published last month by scientists at Harvard University.

Why this is a big deal: More than 430 million people worldwide have hearing loss. 90% of those have "sensorineural" hearing loss due to loss of hair cells in the inner ear.

Not only does hearing loss make everyday life more difficult, it can also cause debilitating conditions like tinnitus, and even lead to dementia.

Mice and humans share the same problem: Hair cells in the inner ear cannot regrow on their own, at least in mammals. In mammals, any remaining ear hair cells cannot divide due to several genetic blocks.

What scientists managed to do in this study is to create an injectable gene therapy to remove those genetic blocks, and to allow hair cells in the ear to subdivide and regrow in mice. It's a historic first, and an important step on the way to curing hearing loss in humans.

So what specifically can you do now: As I've written in an earlier issue of Long Youthspan, hearing loss correlates with dementia, but hearing aids reduce the likelihood of developing dementia if your hearing has gone.

So while you're waiting for this mouse research to be tested and hopefuly proven in humans, you can get your hearing tested. And if you need it, get a hearing aid — it could save your brain until scientists figure out a full hearing loss solution.