Cochlear implant-delivered gene therapy ‘can help restore hearing’

Cochlear implants could be used as a means of delivering gene therapy to help restore auditory perception among people with hearing loss.

The University of New South Wales study has found a way of using electrical pulses delivered from a cochlear implant to deliver gene therapy to successfully regrow auditory nerves in those affected by age-related or environmental hearing impairments.

It was previously understood that auditory nerve endings regenerate if neurotrophins – a protein type that aids the development and function of neurons – are delivered to the cochlea, but this could not be achieved via drug delivery or viral-based gene therapy.

However, this new study shows electrical signals transmitted via existing cochlear technology did the job with surprising efficiency in animal test subjects.

Senior author Professor Gary Housley said: "We hope that after further research, people who depend on cochlear implant devices will be able to enjoy a broader dynamic and tonal range of sound."

According to figures from Action on Hearing Loss, more than ten million people in the UK have some degree of hearing impairment or deafness, representing around one in six members of the population.