Dunshaw Hearing Aid Centers

Effective communication is more than good hearing, and good hearing is more than amplified noise. Despite all of the dedicated research, the exact mechanisms behind hearing loss remain mysterious; but a New York hearing loss study might have peeled back the veil a tiny bit.

The study used a species of mouse, the CBA, that gradually lost its ability to hear higher frequencies over time – like humans. While these mice were good for studying similar effects, they weren’t the best mice for breeding. To increase the yield, researcher Robert Frisina cross-bred them with a more virile sort of mouse, C57 Black 6 – known for their poor hearing.

The results were startling.

Researchers at the University of Rochester Hearing Center in New York were surprised when the hybrid offspring not only bred better than the CBA mice, but retained their hearing better as they got older.

Win-win.

Frisina and his New York hearing loss team had set out to study the effects of hearing loss in the ear, but instead hit on a potential neurological cause. Five percent of people over the age of 50 can hear the full range of frequencies – known colloquially as having a “golden ear.” This study essentially replicated this feat in the mice.

The hybrid mouse outperformed the CBA mice from birth, the researchers found (using essentially the same test as in humans). The difference was significant as the mice aged – good news for older sufferers of hearing loss.

There is still much research to be done, but these mice might be the “golden key” to unlock the connection between genetics and hearing loss.

Tags: golden ears, hearing aids, mice, New Study, Studies

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 1:33 pm and is filed under News, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.