Hearing disorders
Hearing loss is most common among older people. Heredity and prolonged exposure to loud noises contribute to age-related hearing loss in more than one third of adults ages 70 and older. Nearly 10 percent of them reported deafness. While genetics plays a role in gradual, age-related hearing loss, it creates more severe problems in babies and young children. Genetic factors play a role in about half of all cases of hearing loss among children. Mutations in many genes are known to cause deafness or hearing loss or to increase the risk of developing hearing problems.
Current treatment of hearing disorders is mechanical. For hearing loss doctors can use readily available hearing aids to magnify sound. In more severe cases, surgery such as cochlear implants can restore some hearing ability. Screening of infants is important, as early deafness can lead to language and learning disorders without timely intervention.
Hearing disorder research at The Jackson Laboratory
Research into age-related hearing loss is made extremely challenging by the environmental factors such as noise and disease that also play significant roles. Screening efforts have identified more than 60 hearing-related mutations to help begin to sort out the complicated problem. Research into single-gene mutations that affect hearing also sheds light on the basic mechanisms of hearing.
