Prestigious Kavli Prize in Neuroscience Awarded to Trio of Researchers for Work on Molecular and Neural Mechanisms of Hearing
OSLO, NORWAY — The Kavli Prizes recognize scientists for pioneering advances and are presented every two years in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. Laureates are chosen by committees whose members are recommended by six of the world’s most renowned science societies and academies. This year, a trio of scientists have been awarded the 2018…
Read More
Frequency Therapeutics Announces Successful Completion of First-in-Human Study of FX-322, Company’s Leading Candidate for Hearing Restoration
WOBURN, MASSACHUSSETTS – Biotech startup, Frequency Therapeutics, announced late last month the successful completion of a first-in-human study of the company’s investigative compound FX-322, the company’s lead Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) candidate for hearing restoration. The preliminary results were recently presented at a lecture last month at the US-Japan Symposium on Drug Delivery. According to…
Read More
Boston-Based Biotech, Akouos, Nets $7.5M Investment to “Restore and Preserve Hearing”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS — Biotechnology startup, Akouos, announced that it has raised $7.5 million in seed funding. The company, which was spun out of the Harvard Innovation Labs, is developing novel therapies and delivery systems to prevent hearing loss and restore hearing in genetically defined populations. New Enterprise Associates (NEA), who led the seed funding along…
Read More
Using Laser Light to Restore Sound: Researchers Develop Optical Cochlear Implant
European engineers from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria have invented a new type of cochlear implant. Unlike traditional cochlear implants that stimulate auditory nerves with electrical fields, the prototype device uses laser pulses to trigger auditory signals from hair cells in the inner ear. The benefit, say the researchers, is a much more focused device that…
Read More
Researchers Develop Ear-Worn Device that Could Lead to Improved Monitoring of Vital Signs
LONDON, ENGLAND – Researchers at the Imperial College of London (ICL) have developed an ear-worn sensor to monitor heart, brain and lung function. Their latest study, published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, suggests the device has the potential as a heart monitor and “opens up a range of new possibilities in the identification and…
Read More
University of Maryland Receives $8 Million Federal Grant for Hearing Loss Research
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND — Researchers at the University of Maryland, using an $8 million grant from The National Institute on Aging, are collaborating to investigate hearing loss and brain function. The five-year grant will fund three such projects at the university, which researchers hope to begin as soon as possible. It is estimated that there…
Read More
Study Shows Potential Promise and Peril in Reversing Cochlear Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is a serious global morbidity that affects 360 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. At a basic level, hearing loss of adult onset can be a source of social isolation and even depression for individuals coping with its ill-effects. Even more consequential, children with hearing loss are at risk of…
Read More
New Study Finds No Relationship Between Common Recreational Noise Exposure, “Hidden Hearing Loss”
DALLAS, TEXAS — According to a recently published study, no relationship has been found between common recreational noise exposure and so-called “hidden hearing loss”. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Dallas, was published last month in Frontiers in Neuroscience. Previously, researchers have proposed that recreational noise exposure may result in…
Read More
Australian Researchers Develop New Brain Mapping Method to Assess Hearing Status in Infants
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Researchers at the BABILab, part of the Bionics Institute in Melbourne, are mapping the brains of babies to determine whether or not hearing aids or cochlear implants are helping to develop language centers in the brain. Sensors placed in skullcaps worn by babies engaged in auditory and language tasks provide a unique…
Read More
Auris Medical Completes Enrollment of Phase 3 Trial of AM-111 Drug, to Treat Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
ZUG, SWITZERLAND — Biopharmaceutical company Auris Medical Holdings announced today that it has completed patient enrollment in the Phase 3 trial of its novel AM-111 drug, to treat idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL)–also known as sudden deafness. Results from the trial are anticipated to be available in the fall of this year. HEALOS Trial…
Read More