USC Discovery Could Help Reverse Hearing Loss

LOS ANGELES, CA — Researchers at USC and Harvard Medical School have developed a new approach to repair cells deep inside the ear -- a potential remedy that could restore hearing for millions of elderly people and others who suffer hearing loss.

Their study, published Wednesday in a scientific journal, illustrates a way for a drug to attack damaged nerves and cells inside the ear. The findings could potentially lessen a problem that afflicts two-thirds of people over 70 years old and 17 percent of all adults in the United States.

"What's new here is we figured out how to deliver a drug into the inner ear so it actually stays put and does what it's supposed to do, and that's novel," said study co-author Charles E. McKenna, a chemistry professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "Inside this part of the ear, there's fluid constantly flowing that would sweep dissolved drugs away, but our new approach addresses that problem.

"This is a first for hearing loss and the ear. It's also important because it may be adaptable for other drugs that need to be applied within the inner ear," McKenna said. "We're not saying it's a cure for hearing loss. It's a proof of principle for a new approach that's extremely promising. It's an important step that offers a lot of hope."

The paper, published in the journal Bioconjugate Chemistry, is the latest effort in USC's priority program to advance biomedicine, including the recent launching of the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience.

Hearing loss is projected to increase as the U.S. population ages. Previous research has shown that hearing loss is expected to nearly double in 40 years. Damage to the inner ear can lead to "hidden hearing loss," which is difficulty hearing whispers and soft sounds, especially in noisy places.

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock