For what it’s worth, there’s this…
Seems to me, that they might have found something that could advance Frequency Therapeutics’ work. FX claim to be able to make hair cells from ‘progenitor’ cells. It has only worked in a very limited way possibly because inner and outer hair cells are actually different. I still think FX is full of shit btw. I think they raised a lot of false hopes in search of investment capital.
My wife, you see, predicted what she believed would be my reaction to testing this. I didn’t say a word. She said, “No way you’re volunteering for that!”
Therefore: No way I’m volunteering for that. LOL.
(I’d love to)
Wow does that sound cool! So, Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered this single “master” gene that programs ear hair cells to be either inner or outer ones. This is better than creating just an artificial ear hair cell that can’t distinguish inner from outer.
When that master gene, TBX2, is expressed, it can configure the ear hair cells and restore hearing. But if I was born already fairly deaf (granted, it’s gotten worse over the decades), does that mean I didn’t have enough TBX2 in my embryonic stage?
Or can this research actually inject these genes into me now, and they could start triggering the right ear hair cells to start hearing again?
Hi @1Bluejay. The only question I feel comfortable in answering is your last one and I’m pretty sure the answer unfortunately is ‘no’. It’s only experimental and even if they developed a drug of some kind, it would have to go through pre-clinical in the lab and then phase 1, phase 2, and phase 3 human trials.
So it’s “furthers our understanding of” and "opens up exciting new possiblilities for " etc etc.
Worth trying anything while we wait! Playing tones daily just below threshold has been touted as a way to stimulate regrowth, or at the least re-awaken neural pathways between ear and brain.
Another suggestion I saw was to eat or drink grapefruit which allegedly has a beneficial ingredient (apart from the Vitamin C).
Just might be something in it: apparently pineapple, with its bromelin, is good for eye-floaters, or so a lab trial found. So I tried it, three fresh-cut rings a day. Floaters persisted, but a very long standing astigmatism in one eye went away, and the focus permanently improved - to the extent I actually needed a weaker spectacle lens. Just sayin’ - as they say!
I’m really pleased you posted this.
I’m always interested in new aids for health & wellbeing.
I have astigmatisms. I hate the corrective feature. My eyesight is good enough I could do without spectacles without astigmatism. I’m far-sighted now (a little bit) after being near sighted all my life. Life would be better if I only needed to wear glasses to read.
My hearing loss–gets about 5% worse every year.
Hello DaveL
Glad the nutritional angle was of interest. ‘We are what we eat’ etc. Sorry to learn you are aware of your hearing diminishing. Still wondering if vulnerability to noise damage may vary from person to person. My audiologist agrees ‘fragile ears’ may exist, but isn’t aware of any formal research so far.
…and actually, DaveL, my astigmatism started 40 years ago when I let untrimmed hair prickle my right eyeball for about three weeks when I was doing concentrated work. It started just like that. A kind of acupuncture perhaps! Was no bother until age added the usual reduction in focal accommodation, and I visited an optician.
I worked in a noisy power house and factory from '71 to '88. About '80 they decided to focus on hearing to prevent future claims…Power house was 110 dB. Machine shop—they never measured noise levels. They referred me to the local university for further testing. That’s where many Canadian audiologists go…Company Doc said I noise levels were fine (yeah sure) but that I should wear hearing protection anytime I went into the factory.
I have a claim for hearing loss due to exposure to noise.
DaveL