Collaboration between physics and biology:
New findings promise customised use of hearing aids

Oldenburg. Hearing loss or even deafness is the most common impairment of the human senses. Around one in 1,000 newborns is born with hearing loss. In half of these children, genetic mutations are the cause.

Scientists have now been able to identify over 50 deafness genes. Treatment options have improved considerably in recent years. Nevertheless, even the most modern hearing aids such as cochlear implants often do not lead to the desired success.

As part of the recently approved "Hearing4all" cluster of excellence, the Neurogenetics working group at the University of Oldenburg led by Prof Dr Hans Gerd Nothwang aims to change this. For several years now, it has been analysing deafness genes in mice that allow conclusions to be drawn about how human hearing loss works. As part of a European joint project, the research group has now succeeded in proving that mutations in deafness genes not only affect the function of the peripheral auditory system, i.e. the ear, but also the central auditory pathway. Under the title "Retrocochlear function of the peripheral deafness gene Cacna1d", the Oldenburg researchers, together with scientists from the Universities of Mannheim and Tübingen, have presented these research results in the renowned journal Human Molecular Genetics.

The peripheral deafness gene Cacna1d is essential for the function of the inner ear. Using state-of-the-art genetic techniques, Nothwang and his colleagues have specifically switched off this gene in the auditory pathway without impairing the function of the inner ear. They discovered that the absence of the gene results in drastic structural and functional changes in the auditory pathway located in the central nervous system.

In order to clarify the extent to which other deafness genes also have important functions in the auditory pathway, the scientists are cooperating with groups within the "Hearing4all" cluster of excellence headed by Prof. Dr Dr Birger Kollmeier, the Neurosensory Science research focus and other Oldenburg research groups such as "Molecular Systematics" headed by Prof. Dr Olaf Bininda-Emonds and "Computational Theoretical Physics" headed by Prof. Dr Alexander Hartmann. According to Nothwang, these diverse cooperation opportunities offer the Oldenburg scientists an optimal research environment. "We hope that this interdisciplinary collaboration will provide us with findings that could be of great importance for improving individualised treatment with hearing aids."

Further information at: www.neurogenetik.uni-oldenburg.de/index.html

[Press release from 25/06/2012]