An Italian research team has shown that damage to cells in the inner ear can be repaired by stem cells transplanted from a human umbilical cord.

Research published this week in the journal Nature gives millions of deaf and hard of hearing people new hope of new gene or drug treatments for deafness.

A new breakthrough suggests that gene therapy may be developed in the future as a treatment for hearing loss. The results of the research by scientists at Oregon Health and Science University are published online this week by the journal Nature.

Mitochondria are the ‘power-plants’ inside cells that produce the main source of chemical energy, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), that fuels cell function. A crucial part of the process is played by a molecule known as a tRNA, which assembles the proteins used to make ATP inside the mitochondria.

A new study by scientists at St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee sheds light on the way cells in the inner ear enable finely-tuned hearing.

The development of new treatments for hearing loss may soon be possible after new research on receptors (proteins which receive chemical signals) for the female sex hormone estradiol.

A new working party report from the Royal College of Physicians says that patients with hearing and balance disorders can wait years to be seen by an appropriate specialist, and often remain undiagnosed and inadequately managed.

In a breakthrough that is likely to accelerate research designed to find cures for hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance problems, scientists have perfected a technique that provides a reliable new source of cells critical to understanding certain inner ear disorders.

Researchers have shown that bone marrow stem cells injected into a damaged inner ear can speed hearing recovery after partial hearing loss.

Sixteen percent of adult Europeans suffer from hearing loss great enough to adversely affect their daily life, according to a new report. This is much higher than the previously generally assumed prevalence of 10 percent.

There's little scientific evidence to support the use of steroids or any other currently available therapies to treat people with sudden hearing loss, according to Canadian researchers who reviewed 21 studies conducted within the past few decades.

Researchers have discovered a way to transfer genes, which they hope will restore hearing, into diseased tissue of the human inner ear. This important step brings scientists closer to curing genetic or acquired hearing loss.

A new study reports that a combination of high doses of vitamins A, C, and E and magnesium, taken one hour before noise exposure and continued as a once-daily treatment for five days, is very effective at preventing permanent noise-induced hearing loss.

Scientists exploring the physics of hearing have found an underlying molecular cause for one form of deafness, and a conceptual connection between deafness and the organization of liquid crystals, which are used in flat-panel displays.

Time and oral corticosteroid therapy can help patients regain full hearing, often within a month of sudden hearing loss, say researchers in Seoul.

People who supplement their diets with folic acid may slow their age-related hearing loss, according to new Dutch research published in the 2nd January edition of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Deafness Research UK is funding a new research programme that will be the first to try and develop a cure for deafness using stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow.

A new analysis of iPods and other portable, digital music players by researchers in the USA has produced the first-ever detailed guidelines for safe listening levels using earphones.

Vision and hearing loss are likely to occur hand-in-hand in older people, research suggests.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) may be helped with steroid treatment in the ear.

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, USA, have found that the frequency and severity of ototoxicity - a condition in which platinum-based chemotherapy drugs damage hair cells in the inner ear - have long been underreported by the medical community.

Using progestin as part of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may cause hearing damage, scientists report.

A Turkish study has found that people who use mobile phones a lot are more likely to suffer from hearing loss than those who who use them moderately or not at all.

Belgian scientists have pinpointed three genes that could explain why only some people exposed to loud noise suffer hearing loss.

Scientists say the protein associated with a disorder that causes deafness and blindness in people might help them determine how we hear.

A US study has raised hopes that one day researchers will be able to restore hair cells in the ears of people suffering from deafness.

Researchers at Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine have taken a step toward understanding the genetics that make people more susceptible to the loss of hearing as they age.

Researchers have concluded that a gene responsible for most cases of hereditary deafness may have an unexpected benefit: it may protect you from infection.

Scientists have found that a cluster of genetic mutations accelerate the series of cell deaths that lead to the symptoms of ageing - including hearing loss.

Andrew Reid, head of audiology at the Royal United Hospital in Bristol, has warned that the huge popularity of iPods and other players could leave a generation of music fans with serious problems.