Emerging Therapies and Approaches to Treat and Prevent Hearing Loss

Abstract

Purpose More than 460 million people are impacted by disabling hearing loss worldwide. Hearing loss has negative impacts across the life span and varies by individual. Specifically, in children, hearing loss has been shown to affect learning outcomes, behavioral and cognitive growth, and psychosocial development. In adults, hearing loss has been shown to affect quality of life, social isolation, depression, and anxiety. The purpose of this review is to advance the understanding of the latest research in the development of new treatments of hearing loss, including gene therapy, stem cell therapy, and pharmacotherapies. We address the use of animals to model human hearing loss and the importance of animals in previous discoveries and developing new therapies. We highlight the importance of early identification for better speech and developmental outcomes specifically in pediatric individuals. Lastly, we review new possibilities in the prevention of hearing loss and the path to translation into practice. Conclusions Research and development of new therapies to treat hearing loss is an ever growing field with many notable successes. However, clinical translation still poses many challenges. Many discoveries related to gene therapy, stem cell therapy, and pharmacotherapy are in the early phases of clinical trials and hold promise. This review empowers audiologists to be aware of these most recent developments and be conscious of the evolving future landscape of treatment and management of hearing loss.