Hearing

Scientists investigating regenerative treatments for hearing loss have made an important advance, demonstrating how a single protein can determine whether embryonic hair cells mature into adult hair cells, or follow a different path entirely.

Exposure to sustained loud noise often results in hearing loss. But now, biologists are testing drugs they call “chemical earmuffs” in mice, which could prevent hearing loss without affecting the volume or quality of sound.

Research led by the University of Arizona may have uncovered a new potential treatment target for tinnitus – not the ears but within the brain itself. The study suggests that neuroinflammation is to blame, and could be a new way to fix the problem.

​Amongst the challenges faced by the deaf is what's known as the "cocktail party effect," in which they have difficulty discerning one speaker's voice from others in crowded, noisy environments. A new device could help, however – by buzzing two of their fingers.

Ear infections are common, but conditions can be difficult to diagnose. Researchers from the University of Washington have stepped up with a mobile app that can detect fluid behind the eardrum using just a cone of paper and your phone.​

Once we lose the sensory hair cells in the cochlea, they’re gone for good. But now researchers have found a way to regrow them in mice, potentially paving the way for more effective hearing loss treatments in humans.

A team of Swedish researchers have discovered three new types of neurons, which help carry auditory signals from the ear to the brain and may hold the secrets to treating hearing disorders like tinnitus.

"A volume control for your ears." That's what Dutch company Knops promises with its eponymous unpowered noise control ear plugs, which give you the ability to choose between four levels of noise filtering. We put them through the uncompromising test of an aggressively loud children's show.

​There may be new hope for people who are losing their hearing, thanks to research being conducted by scientists from the University of Southern California and Harvard University. They've developed a solution intended to stay put in the inner ear, where it will help repair cells.

A small Australian company is hoping to blow multi-thousand-dollar prescription hearing aids out of the water. This US$449 pair of over-the-counter, Bluetooth hearing augmentation earbuds can test and adjust to your hearing, connect to your phone, and separate voices from background noise.

They’re not just Bluetooth earbuds. With mics in each ear and an adjustable intelligent noise control feature, IQbuds let you experience the world around you with a kind of bionic hearing. In noisy environments, they let you separate voices out of the background noise to make conversations easier.

This device could be what millions of people worldwide have been waiting for – an effective treatment for tinnitus. Human trials have shown precisely timed sounds and weak electrical pulses delivered by the device can reduce or even eliminate that ringing in your ears.