Deafness Causes To Be Reversed By Drug?
There are currently 9 million people in the UK who suffer from deafness or are hard of hearing, i.e. one in seven of the population, rising to one in two for those over 60, yet there is no known method to reverse existing hearing loss.
Exposure to loud noise, encountered most frequently at unregulated workplaces, can damage the sensory hair cells which convert sound into signals sent to the brain. Because the body can’t replace the cells, any hearing damage is permanent.
Industrial deafness is one of the leading occupational hazards of developed countries, putting 400 to 500 million people at risk across Europe and the USA. Research continues to be conducted, in order to understand how noise causes hearing loss, and to find a way to both prevent and cure the damage.
Noise can cause hearing loss through physical injury caused to the delicate structures within the inner ear, or through the build-up of a damaging, reactive by-product of the cells’ energy production, which under normal circumstances, can protect themselves from the by-products.
However, when the inner ear is excessively stimulated by noise, the production of harmful particles increases and the cells’ defensive systems are overwhelmed. This process leads to cell damage and hearing loss.
A research team at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, have tested a drug that could potentially be used to treat noise induced hearing loss. The drug activates a natural pathway that increases the level of the body’s own ‘antioxidant enzymes’ to combat the build-up of damaging by-products after exposure to loud noise.
In early trials, the researchers have shown that the drug will work, both, when applied locally to the ear, and injected into the blood stream. The scientists are now working on finding a investment partner to help them carry out clinical trials. Although these are early days, the researchers believe that this drug could be the first to reverse damage to the ear after noise exposure.
There is currently no drug specifically to treat deafness causes for the estimated 12.6 million people suffering from noise-induced hearing loss. A detailed report of research findings has already been already presented to 22 companies, who are now aware of the need and opportunity to develop new treatments.
With greater interest and investment from pharmaceutical companies, treatments for hearing loss will be developed more quickly.