Cure For Noise-Induced Deafness? Studies In Mice Say Yes!

"Scientists have restored the hearing of mice partly deafened by noise, using advanced tools to boost the production of a key protein in their ears."

This microscope image of tissue from deep inside a normal mouse ear shows how ribbon synapses (red) form the connections between the hair cells of the inner ear (blue) and the tips of nerve cells (green) that connect to the brain.

As a blogger, I am always keeping an eye out for interesting information that I can use to inspire visually edible content concerning hearing loss and hearing rehabilitation. Today, I came across this article in ScienceDaily based on a study that the University of Michigan conducted on curing deafness in mice (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141020212308.htm) and found myself quite excited to share this information.  A word of caution... I am NOT a scientist, which means that the following information is in "lay-men" terms.  Please bear with me.

Scientists have discovered a protein, called NT3, that is responsible for maintaining communication between what we hear and how that information is shared with our brain.  Those messages happen through a function called ribbon synapses. Essentially, ribbon synapses are responsible for that key moment when the message goes from a chemical signal to an electrical impulse.  When we sustain hearing loss, either through noise exposure or aging, those synapses can no longer rapidly communicate sound definition to the brain.  Scientists theorized that the inner ear cell is supported by NT3 and experimented with genetically modifying the cells in the inner ear by "turning on" the genes responsible for that protein production.  They ran a series of tests on mice, turning on and off those genes in the presence of noise exposure, and found that the mice with the extra NT3 regained their hearing, and long-term, were hearing much better than the mice that didn't receive the extra protein. So what does this all mean?

"It has become apparent that hearing loss due to damaged ribbon synapses is a very common and challenging problem, whether it's due to noise or normal aging," says Gabriel Corfas, Ph.D., who led the team and directs the U-M institute. "We began this work 15 years ago to answer very basic questions about the inner ear, and now we have been able to restore hearing after partial deafening with noise, a common problem for people. It's very exciting."

The next step is to begin human trials.  There will be two aspects to the testing.  One is to discover/create/use drugs capable of simulating NT3.  The other step is to use gene therapy, as they did with the mice, to see if the human ear can support, and respond to, the protein.
In a nut-shell, scientists may have found a cure for deafness!  Though, in the future this may put my family out of business, I can honestly say, we wouldn't be in business for the right reason if we weren't excited to think of a world in which deafness doesn't exist!

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The Sage Hearing Solution: Poor Hearing Leads to Isolation

The Sage Hearing Solution: Poor Hearing Leads to Isolation: Recently , David and I were at dinner when he began sharing with me some of the recent struggles of one of our patients.  He described this...

Poor Hearing Leads to Isolation

Recently, David and I were at dinner when he began sharing with me some of the recent struggles of one of our patients.  He described this patient as a female, younger than most of our other patients (50-55 years old), family oriented, and has a successful job which requires her to make several public appearances in a year. She has suffered from hearing loss all of her life and over the years it has progressively gotten worse. Recently, she up-graded her technology and she and David have spent the last two months trying to fine-tune her prescription. The results have been very frustrating for her, not because of David or his efforts, but because she just isn't hearing the way she wants too, the way being in the public eye requires her to.  At her last appointment, she communicated with David that she is finding that it has become increasingly easier for her to isolate herself in order to avoid public settings where she cannot hear conversation nor answer questions.  This has left her feeling depressed and lonely. The sad thing is that her story is a reflection of an ever growing problem among the 4.5 million 50- to 59-year-olds in the United States that are experiencing hearing loss with only 4 percent of those individuals actively using hearing aids (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/02/13/millions-50-and-older-suffering-hearing-loss-but-not-using-aids/).  Luckily, our patient is in the 4 percent and we are confidant that, with long-term rehabilitation, she will be able to return to the more social events her job requires of her.  But, what about the other 4 million 300 thousand people that are not addressing their hearing health? An article written by American Speech-Language-Hearing Association declares that in several studies the results have proven that "hearing loss was associated with decreased social/emotional, communication, and cognitive function in addition to increased depression for subjects who were unaided as compared to those who received hearing aids.". Now that the collective medical community is aware of this, and has long-term supporting evidence, more emphasis is being placed on preventative and holistic care.  Currently, there is major movement within the medical community to change the stigma associated with wearing a hearing aid as well as educating the consumer and their families on the importance of addressing the hearing health for themselves and their loved ones. Once a hearing loss has been identified it is important to implement solutions as any individual would regarding an important health care issue. Mostly, firstly, it is imperative to acknowledge that hearing loss doesn't just affect the aging or even "the elderly" It can happen to the young as well. 30 per 1000 school-aged children have a hearing loss (http://www.hearingloss.org/content/basic-facts-about-hearing-loss).  The sooner we can set the example of a proactive approach, the better example we will set for our children.

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Cheaper Hearing Aids Aren't Always Better!

We recently had the opportunity to hold a seminar at one of our local retirement homes.  It was the first meeting of its kind since opening Sage Hearing Solutions.  Our intention was to take the opportunity, in a very personal way, to touch individuals with hearing loss and educate them on, not only their hearing loss, but where it comes from and how hearing instruments can help.  During our time with our attendees, we noticed a couple of common themes. First, all but one of the current hearing aid wearers bought their instruments based on a lower price-tag.  This is understandable. Hearing instruments can be expensive and most people are misinformed regarding the marriage that should happen between the technology the hearing aid has to offer, the lifestyle of the person with hearing loss, and the technician who is fitting the instrument.  Make no mistake about it, you really do get what you pay for. Our attendees were quit surprised to hear this, even though most were very DISsatisfied with the way their instruments were performing. A key point during our presentation was that hearing aids must be programmed specifically for each environment that the wearer encounters.  If a hearing aid is programmed to amplify sound because he/she needs to understand the pastor in church, that same program may be incredibly uncomfortable when going into a loud dining hall for a meal. With an inexpensive hearing aid, this will almost always be the case.  In the case of someone who is sedentary, that cheaper technology may suffice, but for our more active users, cheapest isn't always best!  Currently, our Senior population is the MOST active it has ever been (http://transgenerational.org/aging/demographics.htm). This requires that our seniors are able to stay connected to their work environment, exercise programs, family functions, movies, dance classes, church functions, etc. If a person can't hear properly because the instruments are NOT fit properly, or don't possess the proper technology, it will have a negative long-term effect on the individuals willingness to stay active. Which leads us into the second common theme we noticed during the seminar.  That is, unfortunately, that most people view their hearing health and hearing aids as a luxury item, as opposed to a very necessary part of living a better life. Currently, one in five Americans have a hearing loss and only 20% of those individuals seek help (http://www.asha.org/Aud/Articles/Untreated-Hearing-Loss-in-Adults/). Even though an individual knows they have a need, they will often times make the decision to purchase hearing aids based on price or forgo hearing aids completely. For us, as care providers, these two major issues have become a point of frustration for two reasons.  The first is clear... individuals with hearing loss are not properly educated in almost all of the aspects of their hearing health. For instance, when to be tested, what technology best suits their specific needs and what to look for in the trial period and beyond. The second issue we have is this... It is the responsibility of the practitioner to convey all the necessary information about hearing health to a prospective patient. Clearly, this isn't being done effectively enough. Individuals should be informed of the differences technology has to offer and how that technology applies to their specific loss.  Realistic expectations must be set for the practitioner/patient relationship as well as the hearing aid/patient relationship. If a practitioner cannot emphasis this importance, how can we expect our patients to take their hearing health seriously?  It inspires David and I to continue to reach out to the people in our community through informative seminars and in-home visits. We are looking forward to changing the way people view their hearing loss.