Medical treatments and cures for deafness

Research into preventing or reversing inner ear damage has always been one of the charity's priorities. Regeneration of cells in the inner ear could lead to a cure for deafness.

Researchers at University College London funded by Deafness Research UK were the first to report that hair cells in the mammalian balance system can regenerate.

The charity's research now includes studies of the differences between the balance and the hearing systems, research into wound repair in the inner ear, regeneration in other systems and research into the molecular and genetic changes that occur during development of the ear.

Advances in research techniques mean that we could now be on the brink of developing radical new medical treatments for the most common forms of deafness and there is now more reason than ever to believe that medical cures for deafness are within our reach.

It is now a question of when - not if - we cure deafness.