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Hearing Loss Research Makes Progress

Posted by Julie, Volunteer Mentor @julieo4, Jan 26 1:55pm

The following information has been circulating on the media the past few days. This is really fascinating 'stuff' as there has been so little talk of 'curing' hearing loss. While this 'cure' relates to a rare condition it surely brings hope for future developments.

https://www.hearingtracker.com/news/akouos-ak-otof-gene-therapy-restores-hearing-in-11-year-old-within-30-days

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hearing Loss Support Group.

bobbyboomer | @bobbyboomer | Jan 27 3:26pm

Every advance is hopeful.

Sadly, they aren't coming soon enough 🙁 they have been predicting 5-10 years for about 20 years now, and many still say 5-10 years.

But you never know, sometimes improvements come in a flash so I keep my eyes open.

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Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Jan 27 4:05pm
In reply to @bobbyboomer "Every advance is hopeful. Sadly, they aren't coming soon enough :( they have been predicting 5-10..." + (show)
@bobbyboomer

Every advance is hopeful.

Sadly, they aren't coming soon enough 🙁 they have been predicting 5-10 years for about 20 years now, and many still say 5-10 years.

But you never know, sometimes improvements come in a flash so I keep my eyes open.

Jump to this post

Yes, that is true. Being told that NOTHING to help my progressive hearing loss would ever happen during my lifetime...when I was 22 years old made me feel hopeless. It took decades, but things are happening now. So much hearing loss is hereditary/genetic so even though a true cure probably won't happen in my lifetime I have hope for any of my progeny who may someday have hearing issues. So far so good.

I feel so fortunate to have been a cochlear implant candidate 15 years ago when I was in my 60s. It's not a true 'cure', but it is a miraculous 'remedy'. Prior to that, I had been introduced to assistive technology like hearing loops, FM systems, etc. that gave me a huge boost.

It will help a lot if someday we can get rid of all the stupid stigmas that keep people hiding their hearing loss and not getting help. To get help you have to admit it's a problem.

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bobbyboomer | @bobbyboomer | Jan 27 7:33pm

I can't do a cochlear implant, as I've read that it isn't refined enough for me to sing and play saxophone perfectly in tune. That's what I do for a living.

I can hear pitches well, it's just the consonants in speech that are lost. So my music world is fine, but my personal world is almost non-existent.

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Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Jan 27 9:17pm
In reply to @bobbyboomer "I can't do a cochlear implant, as I've read that it isn't refined enough for me..." + (show)
@bobbyboomer

I can't do a cochlear implant, as I've read that it isn't refined enough for me to sing and play saxophone perfectly in tune. That's what I do for a living.

I can hear pitches well, it's just the consonants in speech that are lost. So my music world is fine, but my personal world is almost non-existent.

Jump to this post

Good luck to you bobbyboomer. If your hearing continues to deteriorate, don't rule out cochlear implants sometime down the line. So glad you can hear pitches well. Losing the ability to understand consonants is very typical of progressive sensorineural hearing loss.

In encourage you to try using some of the basic assistive listening technology in social situations. That won't hurt your musical world. Do you use hearing aids? Are you familiar with FM systems? Telecoils? Remote Microphones' etc.?

Are you using the best possible form of hearing protection in your musical endeavors? I hope so.

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