Hearing Loss affects nearly 500 million people worldwide

About 1 out of every 10 people will experience some form of hearing loss or auditory processing disorder in their lifetimes.  It not only affects the individual, but those around them.  Developing effective treatments and preventative measures to combat hearing loss and auditory processing disorders will improve quality of life throughout the world.   

There are various types of Hearing Loss

Conditions which interfere with the proper conduction of sound through the middle ear are known as conductive hearing loss (CHL).  When the cells that transmit information about sound are damaged or die this is known as a Sensorineuronal Hearing Loss (SNHL). Both of these affect processing of sound by the middle (CHL) and inner (SNHL) ear. Central injuries such as traumatic brain injury or stroke can induced central auditory processing disorders (CAPDs).  These affect the processing of sound by the brain.  Peripheral and Central disorders can accompany each other making diagnosis and treatment especially difficult.     

There are various Forms of Treatment for Hearing Loss

Hearing Aids for CHL

A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. The hearing aid is fitted to the most recent audio gram and is programmed by frequencies associated with the hearing loss.  

Cochlear Implants for SNHL

A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthetic device to provide a person with moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss a modified sense of sound. CI bypasses the normal acoustic hearing process to replace it with electric signals which directly stimulate the auditory nerve.

Central Auditory Processing Disorders currently have no treatments and are difficult to diagnose

CAPD occurs when central brain regions associated with auditory processing are damaged through traumatic brain injury, stroke, or other concussive forces.  Peripheral hearing loss can accompany CAPD, but in many cases the processing of peripheral auditory stimuli remains intact leading to a "healthy" audiogram.  This is the primary tool used by audiologists to diagnose hearing loss.  This is why CAPD has also be come to known as "hidden hearing loss".  This type of hearing loss does not express itself until environments such as a noisy room interfere with downstream processing and lead to subtle impairments such as difficulty hearing a conversation.

AAV based Gene Therapy offers us the ability to explore novel treatments for Central & Peripheral Auditory Disorders 

In the Mowery Lab we use what are known as adeno-associated viruses to target different cell types in the peripheral and central nervous system.  This allows us to deliver various proteins and enzymes to these cells.  This targeted protein expression can deliver novel receptor complexes (e.g., DREADDs, CHR2) or selected proteins and enzymes that are missing or produced in low quantities.  Protein expression can also be bolstered to "harden" the auditory system against environmental factors such as noise induced trauma or as a treatment following noise exposure.  I, along with my collaborators, am employing the use of AAV techniques to explore viral based gene therapies for the treatment and prevention of hearing loss and hearing related disorders.  It is our hope that the development of this technology will someday lead to the widespread treatment and eventually the eradication of the myriad of auditory disorders that affect so many people throughout the world.