Stem Cells for Relieving Age-Related Hearing Loss

摘要

Stem cells, or other replacement cells, provide new options treating illnesses or disorders resulting from cell loss in the body. Stem cells have the capacity to turn into other types of cell and can be obtained from various sources, including the patient. We examine one potential way that stem cell replacement could prevent age-related hearing loss by preventing degeneration of certain cells of the cochlea. The cochlea's ability to transduce acoustic energy, delivering signals perceived as sound, declines with age. Hearing frequency ranges for humans at birth is from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and presbycusis occurs between 16 kHz to 18 kHz, progressing lower and resulting in speech difficulties and localizing sound in noisy environments.