New Contributor to Age-Related Hearing Loss

Postdoctoral researcher Ting-Ting Du, left, led the research in the lab of neuroscientist Jung-Bum Shin, right, that explores the role of the inner ear’s cuticular plate in hearing loss. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered a new potential contributor to age-related hearing loss, a finding that could eventually help doctors identify people at risk. The finding suggests that genetic predisposition can cause this “cuticular plate,” as the foundation is known, to weaken over time.
The research was supported by the Virginia Lions Hearing Foundation, by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.  [Read more]