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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the correlation-and-causation dept.

Study uncovers hair cell loss as underlying cause of age-related hearing loss:

In a new study of human ear tissues, hearing scientists have demonstrated that age-related hearing loss, also called presbycusis, is mainly caused by damage to hair cells, the sensory cells in the inner ear that transform sound-induced vibrations into the electrical signals that are relayed to the brain by the auditory nerve. Their research challenges the prevailing view of the last 60 years that age-related hearing loss is mainly driven by damage to the stria vascularis, the cellular "battery" that powers the hair cell's mechanical-to-electrical signal conversion.

The inner ear, where most types of hearing impairment originate, cannot be biopsied, and its delicate structures can only be resolved in specimens removed at autopsy. Understanding the true cellular causes of age-related hearing loss impacts how future treatments are developed and how appropriate candidates will be identified, and can also suggest how to prevent or minimize this most common type of hearing damage, according to the study authors, led by Pei-zhe Wu, MD, a postdoctoral research fellow in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.

"Our study upends the dogma about the major cause of age-related hearing loss," said Dr. Wu. "Documenting the dominant role of progressive hair cell loss in the hearing impairment of normal aging means that the millions who suffer with this condition could benefit from the hair cell regenerative therapies that are the focus of ongoing research across the world. No one is focusing on approaches to regenerate the stria."

Journal Reference:
Pei-zhe Wu, Jennifer T. O'Malley, Victor de Gruttola, et al. Age-related hearing loss is dominated by damage to inner ear sensory cells, not the cellular battery that powers them [$], Journal of Neuroscience (DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0937-20.2020)


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  • (Score: 2) by stormreaver on Tuesday July 21 2020, @01:26PM (1 child)

    by stormreaver (5101) on Tuesday July 21 2020, @01:26PM (#1024561)

    Fortunately for me, I don't have any hair loss. Hair migration, yes. Hair loss, no. All the hair I'm losing on the top of my head is migrating straight to my ears. Yay me!

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @09:35AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @09:35AM (#1024890)

    Similar issue. I'm stooping over and getting more hair on my back. I sort of look like a bald gorilla. Any month now, I expect to get the silver stripe on my back.