Around 48 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss, caused by aging, noise exposure, genetics, infections, or medications. Current treatment relies on hearing aids and cochlear implants, which amplify or bypass damaged parts of the ear but don't restore natural hearing or reverse the underlying damage.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing drugs that might regenerate hair cells in the inner ear, gene therapies for inherited hearing loss, and treatments to prevent hearing damage from chemotherapy or antibiotics. Researchers are also improving cochlear implant technology and testing devices that stimulate the auditory nerve more precisely.
Hair cell regeneration
Several drugs aim to trigger regrowth of the sensory hair cells in the cochlea that convert sound into nerve signals. Birds naturally regrow these cells after damage, and researchers are testing whether the same pathways can be activated in humans.
Gene therapy
Trials are testing gene therapy for children born with genetic hearing loss, delivering working copies of specific genes directly into the inner ear. Early results show some children gaining the ability to hear speech.
Otoprotective drugs
Drugs are being tested to prevent hearing loss from cisplatin chemotherapy and aminoglycoside antibiotics, which damage hair cells as a side effect. Some work by blocking the toxic pathway without reducing the drugs' main effects.
What to know before you search
Eligibility depends on the cause and severity of hearing loss, age of onset, whether one or both ears are affected, and previous use of hearing aids or implants.
What types of trials are currently open
- Regenerative trials — Testing drugs that might regrow damaged hair cells in the inner ear or promote nerve repair.
- Gene therapy trials — Delivering genes into the inner ear to treat inherited forms of hearing loss, typically in young children.
- Prevention trials — Testing drugs that might protect hearing during chemotherapy or other treatments known to damage the ear.
- Device trials — Testing new cochlear implant technology, improved hearing aids, or devices that stimulate the auditory nerve in new ways.
- Observational studies — Following people with hearing loss to understand how it progresses and what factors predict benefit from different treatments.
Recently added Hearing Loss trials
Audiological Rehabilitation of Children With Unilateral Hearing Loss
The goal of this study is to examine the effects of hearing aids and early intervention on hearing, language, and neural development in children with hearing loss in one ear, known as unilateral hearing loss. The main research questions are: 1. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to hearing aids and early intervention have better speech understanding in noise than children with unilateral hearing loss with later or no access to intervention? 2. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to intervention have more typical responses in the brain than children with late or no access to intervention? 3. Do children with unilateral hearing loss with earlier access to intervention have better speech and language skills than children with late or no access to intervention? Researchers will collect hearing, language, and neural data and information about each child's access to intervention to examine the longitudinal impact of auditory experience on these outcomes. Participants and their caregivers will: * Answer questions about the child's health, developmental, and hearing histories. * Receive hearing tests and speech recognition tests. * Complete tests of speech and language abilities. * A subset of eligible participants will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magneotencephalography (MEG).
Mi2000 TICI Follow-up
This Post-Market Clinical Follow-up (PMCF) investigation aims to further collect evidence on safety and performance of the Mi2000 TICI. This PMCF investigation will collect retrospective and prospective clinical data from the use of the Mi2000 TICI and related devices. This PMCF investigation is performed on a new cochlear implant system, which was previously studied in two pre-market clinical investigations with limited follow-up duration. The purpose of the current clinical investigation is to collect further evidence by collecting clinical data on the use of the Mi2000 TICI. The Mi2000 TICI is a state-of-the-art cochlear implant, designed to be totally implantable, indicated to treat severe to profound hearing loss, asymmetric hearing loss and single-sided deafness.
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