Birds can naturally restore their hearing after damage, a remarkable ability that has inspired the creation of our Hearing Restoration Project. In our April 28 research webinar, HRP member Stefan Heller, Ph.D., of Stanford University shares how his lab has uncovered the principal mechanism of hair cell regeneration in the chick model, a cell division-based mechanism that his lab has meticulously tracked. Heller is also a former Emerging Research Grants (ERG) scientist.

Ménière’s disease is a complex and often debilitating condition, affecting balance and hearing through symptoms such as vertigo, tinnitus, and fluctuating hearing loss. The Ménière’s Disease Symposium, held February 21 at the ARO MidWinter Meeting, brought together clinicians and researchers to discuss the latest advancements in diagnosis, treatments, and future investigative directions. Read a recap and view the captioned video of all the presentations.

Hearing Restoration Project members Andy Groves, Ph.D., and Litao Tao, Ph.D., and team recently showed it is possible to design gene therapies for the ear that are carefully targeted at supporting cells, an essential first step in applying gene therapy to treat hearing loss in humans.

The latest paper by Emerging Research Grants (ERG) scientist Timothy Balmer, Ph.D., shows that unipolar brush cells, a type of neuron, may help compensate for age-related balance decline in older mice, maintaining stability.

Hearing Restoration Project member Ksenia Gnedeva, Ph.D., and team identified key gene regulators that enable some deafened animals—including fish and lizards—to naturally regenerate their hearing.