What if you could reverse hearing loss by injecting medicine into the ear?
That’s the question researchers are working to answer through a new clinical trial of an investigational drug – a gel injected into the ear that is designed to re-grow cells that are necessary for healthy hearing.
More than 41 million Americans have sensorineural hearing loss – an irreversible condition due to the loss of sensory cells in the ear. Today, there are no approved medicines for the condition – only devices, like hearing aids. And while hearing aids undoubtedly help people hear better, they do not address the root cause of this type of hearing loss. Only 20% of those who are candidates for hearing aids have them – and even fewer actually wear them.
Hearing loss is also on the rise, and a growing body of evidence shows that this has implications for our overall health. Many of us assume that hearing loss is just a natural part of aging. In fact, it is a public health problem that spans all age groups and is increasingly a result of living in an industrialized society.
Recruitment for this clinical trial is underway in more than 25 states. Doctors are eager to enroll even more people to help advance this new technology, with the hope of one day improving the standard of care for millions of people with hearing loss.
Interview courtesy: Frequency Therapeutics
