This new treatment could combat hearing loss

A new drug injected into the ear could repair the damage caused by hearing loss, the Daily Mail reported.

In the trial test, University College London’s Ear Institute researchers are injecting a drug called a gamma-secretase inhibitor into the ears of 24 patients. Participants of the study have been partially dead for almost 10 years.

They hope the drug can restore hearing by "stimulating the growth of healthy new 'hair' cells deep inside the ear", the report revealed.

"Restoring hair cells in the cochlea is the holy grail of hearing loss treatment," Dr Adam Frosh, a consultant ear, nose and throat specialist at the Lister Hospital in Hertfordshire, told the Daily Mail.

"But one of the big questions is the bioavailability of the drug when you inject it into the inner ear — i.e. how long does it stay there, or does it just get flushed away by fluids in the inner ear within moments?

Adding, "This is crucial, because it needs to be present long enough to have an effect on any progenitor cells that are present."

While trials to make sure it is safe have been completed, testing too see if it is effective could begin in a few months.