Molecular Mechanisms of Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Development of Inner Ear Therapeutics

<p>The sense of hearing is vulnerable to environmental challenges such as exposure to</p><p>noise. More than 1.5 billion people experience some decline in hearing ability during their</p><p>lifetime of whom at least 430 million will be affected by disabling hearing loss. If not</p><p>identified and addressed in a timely way hearing loss can severely reduce the quality of</p><p>life at various stages. Some causes of hearing loss can be prevented for example from</p><p>occupational or leisure noise. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1</p><p>billion young people put themselves at risk of permanent hearing loss by listening to loud</p><p>music over long periods of time. Mitigating such risks through public health action is</p><p>essential to reduce the impact of hearing loss in the community. The etiology of</p><p>sensorineural hearing loss is complex and multifactorial arising from congenital and</p><p>acquired causes. This book highlights the diverse range of approaches to sensorineural</p><p>hearing loss from designing new animal models of age-related hearing loss to the use of</p><p>microRNAs as biomarkers of cochlear injury and drug repurposing for the therapy of agerelated</p><p>and noise-induced hearing loss. Further investigation into the underlying</p><p>molecular mechanisms of sensorineural hearing loss and the integration of the novel</p><p>drug cell and gene therapy strategies into controlled clinical studies will permit</p><p>significant advances in a field where there are currently many unmet needs.</p>