If you have a query relating to OAEs or their use, please email us and we will try to help. Correspondence will be posted on this page so that others can add their comments or provide an answer when we cannot help.
Email your questions or fax us on +44 (0)1707 262327.
<img src="colorbar.gif>
Is there a way to stimulage the growth of cells in the ear to correct extreme hearing loss?
It has been noticed that hair cells re-grow spontaneously in the ears of birds after they are damaged. This has also been observed in the balance organ of some animals. It has never been observed in the inner ears of mammals or humans, even though there is a great deal of interest in studying what happens to hair cells after they are damaged. It appears that the inner ears of mammals are rather more highly specialised than those of birds and the cells have to be arranged in a highly organised pattern. This may indicate that the ability to re-grow new hair cells has been lost. Nevertheless, there is interest in finding the appropriate chemical trigger that would stimulate re-growth. The possibility of using such a biological signal to restore hearing seems a very long way off. However, it is possible that by understanding the chemistry of the inner ear more clearly, we might be able to protect ears from further loss of hearing.
8 January 1998