Hearing Loss News

September 12, 2025

Top Headlines

Sweeteners in Diet Drinks May Steal Years from the Brain

Sep. 4, 2025 — A large Brazilian study following more than 12,000 middle-aged adults found that those consuming the most artificial sweeteners—commonly found in diet sodas, flavored waters, and processed snacks—experienced significantly faster declines in ...

Scientists Discover How to Wipe Out Breast Cancer’s Hidden Cells

Sep. 3, 2025 — Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have shown for the first time that it’s possible to detect dormant cancer cells in breast cancer survivors and eliminate them with repurposed drugs, potentially preventing recurrence. In a clinical ...

Lithium Deficiency May Be the Hidden Spark Behind Alzheimer’s

Aug. 29, 2025 — Harvard scientists have uncovered that lithium, a naturally occurring element in the brain, may be the missing piece in understanding Alzheimer’s. Their decade-long research shows that lithium depletion—caused by amyloid plaques binding to ...

A New Cancer Vaccine Just Wiped Out Tumors in Mice

Aug. 19, 2025 — A breakthrough mRNA cancer vaccine has shown the ability to supercharge the effects of immunotherapy in mice, sparking hope for a universal “off-the-shelf” treatment that could fight multiple cancers. Unlike traditional vaccines designed to ...

Trojan Horse Bacteria Sneak Cancer-killing Viruses Into Tumors

Aug. 17, 2025 — Scientists have engineered a groundbreaking cancer treatment that uses bacteria to smuggle viruses directly into tumors, bypassing the immune system and delivering a powerful one-two punch against cancer cells. The bacteria act like Trojan horses, ...

Starving Tumors Makes Cancer Treatment Work Better

Aug. 5, 2025 — Pancreatic cancer cells are known for being hard to treat, partly because they change the environment around them to block drugs and immune cells. Scientists discovered that these tumors use a scavenging process—called macropinocytosis—to pull ...

Breakthrough Lung Cancer Treatment Supercharges Immune Cells with Mitochondria

Aug. 3, 2025 — Scientists have found a way to supercharge lung cancer treatment by transplanting healthy mitochondria into tumors, which both boosts immune response and makes chemotherapy far more effective. By ...

Breakthrough: How Radiation Helps the Immune System Kill Cancer

July 23, 2025 — Radiation therapy, once thought of mainly as a local cancer treatment, is now showing power to awaken the immune system in surprising ways. Researchers discovered that combining radiation with immunotherapy can transform stubborn, unresponsive lung ...

The Silent Threat: How Hearing Loss and Loneliness Are Fueling Memory Decline

July 18, 2025 — A massive European study has uncovered a powerful connection between hearing loss, loneliness, and memory decline. Researchers at the University of Geneva found that older adults with hearing ...

Can Zebrafish Help Humans Regrow Hearing Cells?

July 14, 2025 — Zebrafish can regenerate sensory hair cells that humans permanently lose, like those in the inner ear linked to hearing and balance. New research reveals two specific genes that control how different supporting cells in zebrafish divide and ...

The Surprising Link Between Hearing Loss, Loneliness, and Lifespan

July 5, 2025 — People who treat hearing loss with hearing aids or cochlear implants regain rich conversations, escape isolation, and may even protect their brains and lifespans—proof that better hearing translates into fuller ...

Deafness Reversed: Single Injection Brings Hearing Back Within Weeks

July 3, 2025 — A cutting-edge gene therapy has significantly restored hearing in children and adults with congenital deafness, showing dramatic results just one month after a single injection. Researchers used a virus to deliver a healthy copy of the OTOF gene ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:04am EDT

This Brain Scan Sees Alzheimer’s Coming—but Only in Some Brains

June 29, 2025 — USC researchers have found a promising new brain scan marker that could better detect Alzheimer’s risk — but only for some. The tau-based benchmark works in Hispanic and White populations when ...

AI Sniffs Earwax and Detects Parkinson’s With 94% Accuracy

June 18, 2025 — Imagine diagnosing Parkinson s disease not with pricey scans or subjective checklists, but with a simple ear swab. Scientists in China have developed a promising early screening method that detects ...

Shocking Brain Cancer Breakthrough: Electric Fields Supercharge Immune Assault

June 9, 2025 — A breakthrough study from Keck Medicine of USC may have found a powerful new triple therapy for glioblastoma, one of the deadliest brain cancers. By ...

Wilms Tumors: How Genes and Imprinting Pave the Way for Cancer

May 27, 2025 — A biobank for pediatric kidney tumors plays a key role in identifying hereditary causes of Wilms tumors. New insights gained with its help enable better risk assessment for affected families and ...

People With Critical Cardiovascular Disease May Benefit from Palliative Care

May 16, 2025 — Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on easing symptoms, addressing psychological and spiritual needs, and helping patients and ...

New Auditory Brainstem Implant Shows Early Promise

May 16, 2025 — Investigators are developing a new type of auditory brainstem implant that is designed to be soft, and flexible and address limitations of models currently in use. These implants may one day benefit ...

CAR-T Cell Therapy for Cancer Causes 'Brain Fog,' Study Shows

May 12, 2025 — Cancer treatment with a cell-based immunotherapy causes mild cognitive impairment, a Stanford Medicine team found. They also identified compounds that could treat ...

Addressing Hearing Loss May Reduce Isolation Among the Elderly

May 12, 2025 — Providing hearing aids and advice on their use may preserve social connections that often wane as we age, a new study shows. Its authors say that this approach could help ease the loneliness epidemic ...

Biologists Identify Targets for New Pancreatic Cancer Treatments

May 8, 2025 — Cryptic peptides, which are expressed in pancreatic cancer cells, could be promising targets for T-cell therapies that attack pancreatic tumors, according to a new ...

Childhood Brain Tumors Develop Early in Highly Specialized Nerve Cells

May 7, 2025 — Medulloblastomas, brain tumors in children, are thought to develop between the first trimester of pregnancy and the end of the first year of life. Researchers have now analyzed the genetic changes of ...

Topical Gel Relieved Ear Infections in Animals After Just One Dose

May 5, 2025 — Ear infections are a common and painful occurrence in infants and toddlers. Oral antibiotics are often prescribed for a week to treat the condition, but these drugs can trigger side effects that ...

New 'Hidden in Plain Sight' Facial and Eye Biomarkers for Tinnitus Severity Could Unlock Path to Testing Treatments

Apr. 30, 2025 — Researchers have identified biomarkers for tinnitus severity in subtle facial movements and pupil dilation that can be captured on video recordings. Until now, there has been no objective way to ...

Trouble Hearing in Noisy Places and Crowded Spaces? Researchers Say New Algorithm Could Help Hearing Aid Users

Apr. 28, 2025 — BU researchers develop a brain-inspired algorithm that can help people with hearing loss pick out conversations in noisy, crowded ...

A Drug Dismantles a Metabolic Barrier to Anti-Tumor Immunity

Apr. 28, 2025 — A new study has identified a specific mode of fat uptake by immune cells within tumors that serves as a metabolic checkpoint against anti-cancer immune ...

Blocking a Surprising Master Regulator of Immunity Eradicates Liver Tumors in Mice

Apr. 24, 2025 — 'Cold' tumors are resistant to common immunotherapies. Researchers have uncovered a master regulator that can be manipulated to prevent tumor growth in ...

Even Light Exercise Could Help Slow Cognitive Decline in People at Risk of Alzheimer's

Apr. 24, 2025 — In a landmark clinical trial people at risk for Alzheimer's who exercised at low or moderate-high intensity showed less cognitive decline when compared to those receiving usual ...

Empathy Might Be Retained in Alzheimer's Disease

Apr. 23, 2025 — People with Alzheimer's disease may retain their ability to empathize, despite declines in other social abilities, finds a new ...

New Research Points out a Promising Strategy for Treating Metastatic Medulloblastoma

Apr. 22, 2025 — Researchers reveal a strategy that helps medulloblastoma, the most prevalent malignant brain tumor in children, spread and grow on the leptomeninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal ...

Throwing a 'Spanner in the Works' of Our Cells' Machinery Could Help Fight Cancer, Fatty Liver Disease... and Hair Loss

Apr. 18, 2025 — Fifty years since its discovery, scientists have finally worked out how a molecular machine found in mitochondria, the 'powerhouses' of our cells, allows us to make the fuel we need from ...

Soft Brainstem Implant Delivers High-Resolution Hearing

Apr. 18, 2025 — A team has developed a soft, thin-film ABI. The device uses micrometer-scale platinum electrodes embedded in silicone, forming a pliable array just a fraction of a millimeter thick. This novel ...

Key to the High Aggressiveness of Pancreatic Cancer Identified

Apr. 15, 2025 — A study demonstrates the role of the Galectin-1 protein in the nucleus of the cells surrounding the tumor -- fibroblasts -- contributing to their activation. Activated fibroblasts promote tumor ...

Candidate Deafness Genes Revealed in New Study

Apr. 11, 2025 — New candidate genes which could be responsible for deafness have been ...

New 'Smart' Immune Cells: A Breakthrough for Long-Lasting Tumor Destruction

Apr. 2, 2025 — Imagine a super-charged immune cell that can launch a focused attack on stubborn solid tumors -- a smart fighter that destroys cancer cells for days without tiring. Biomedical engineers have made ...

Mouse Study Identifies Shared Genes Involved in Hearing and Vision Regeneration

Mar. 31, 2025 — The same genes could hold the key to regenerating cells in the ear and eye, according to a new mouse study. Researchers focused on a group of interacting genes called the Hippo pathway, which serve ...

Terahertz Imaging: Breakthrough in Non-Invasive Cochlear Visualization

Mar. 27, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a groundbreaking use of terahertz (THz) imaging to visualize cochlear structures in mice, offering non-invasive, high-resolution diagnostics. By creating 3D ...

At-Home Smell Test for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease

Mar. 24, 2025 — Researchers developed olfactory tests -- in which participants sniff odor labels that have been placed on a card -- to assess people's ability to discriminate, identify and remember odors. They ...

Team Finds Regional, Age-Related Trends in Exposure to Drug-Resistant Pathogen

Mar. 19, 2025 — Campylobacter infections are the most common foodborne illnesses in the U.S., sickening an estimated 1.5 million people each year. A new study examined records of Campylobacter jejuni infections from ...

Study Highlights Noninvasive Hearing Aid

Mar. 13, 2025 — A study highlights a new approach in addressing conductive hearing loss. A team of scientists has designed a new type of hearing aid that not only improves hearing but also offers a safe, ...

COVID-19 Discovery Opens Door to New Treatments for Chronic Lung Problems

Mar. 13, 2025 — A discovery about how severe COVID-19 damages lung cells suggests that an existing drug could treat lingering respiratory problems not just from COVID but influenza and other respiratory ...

Promising Target in Brain Cancer

Feb. 28, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a previously unknown mechanism for how aggressive brain cancers reprogram immune system cells from fighting cancer to enabling further tumor ...