Hao Luo, M.D., Ph.D.
Meet the Researcher
Luo received a medical degree from Anhui Medical University, China, and a doctorate from the University of Science and Technology of China. He completed postdoctoral training at the Rotman Research Institute, Canada, and is now a research associate in the Tinnitus and Auditory Neuroscience Research Lab at Wayne State University, Detroit. His 2019 Emerging Research Grant is generously funded by Royal Arch Research Assistance.
Tinnitus is a public health issue that affects millions of people. Some populations, such as service members and veterans, are disproportionately affected by the condition, which can be debilitating enough to disrupt daily life. Cochlear electrical stimulation (CES) is one promising treatment for managing tinnitus. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of CES for tinnitus suppression. Because the treatment requires surgery for the insertion of electrodes into the cochlea, there is a risk of acute tissue trauma and cell loss in the cochlea, and understanding how to mitigate these effects will help make CES a more effective tinnitus treatment.
Recently, my team demonstrated in rats that cochlear stimulation suppressed tinnitus-like behaviors, accompanied by tinnitus-related neural activity changes. We theorize that CES-induced tinnitus suppression can be more robust when hearing is protected from implant trauma by the intra-cochlear application of AM-111, a novel enzyme inhibitor.
Being a scientist has always been my dream. I grew up on a university campus, the University of Science and Technology of China, which likely greatly influenced my career. My mother worked in chemistry and materials, and her role was to teach freshmen how to do basic chemical experiments. When I was a child I liked to go to her lab and watch her and her colleagues teaching them how to run experiments.
I attended medical school in China. I might have become a doctor if I had not chosen to become a researcher. In the beginning, my focus was on how sound is processed in the human brain, and later I became interested in better understanding tinnitus, when the brain perceives sound without an external sound source present.
It can be challenging to be a scientist, especially when your research results end up being far from what you had expected. But when you invest enough time and thought, I think you will always get some useful information. I am hopeful that my research will lead to a greater understanding of cochlear electrical stimulation and how it works to suppress tinnitus, leading to optimal methods to manage tinnitus.
Hao Luo, M.D., Ph.D., is a Royal Arch Research Assistance award recipient. Hearing Health Foundation thanks the Royal Arch Masons for their ongoing commitment to research in the area of central auditory processing disorder.
The Research
Wayne State University
Cochlear electrical stimulation-induced tinnitus suppression and related neural activity change in the rat inferior colliculus
Tinnitus is a prevalent public health problem that affects millions of people and imposes a significant economic burden on society. Cochlear electrical stimulation (CES) is one promising treatment for managing tinnitus. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of CES-induced tinnitus suppression. In addition, electrode insertion during surgery can cause acute tissue trauma and cell losses, initiating programmed cell death within the damaged tissue of the cochlea. Recently, we demonstrated that cochlear stimulation suppressed tinnitus-like behaviors in rats, which is accompanied with tinnitus-related neural activity changes. We therefore suggest that CES-induced tinnitus suppression would be more robust when hearing is protected from implant trauma by intra-cochlear application of AM-111, a novel enzyme inhibitor.
Long term goal: To find the underlying mechanism of CES-induced tinnitus suppression and the optimal strategy to improve clinical trials and tinnitus management.