In this project, Professor Dan Jagger at University College London and Dr Richard Rainbow at the University of Liverpool study how the blood supply to the inner ear affects hearing, and whether drugs that target it could provide treatments to prevent hearing loss.
Project start date: March 2019
Project end date: September 2022
Read about the project outcomes here.
About the project
Hearing loss can be caused by damage to a specific structure in the inner ear, called the ‘stria vascularis’. The stria vascularis ‘powers’ the sound-sensing cells in the inner ear to send signals to the brain. To do this, it uses energy from the blood supply to the inner ear. If that supply gets damaged, then our hearing is at risk.
There is evidence that conditions such as diabetes and ageing damage blood vessels and disrupt the control of blood flow to the ear, which may lead to hearing loss. Despite this, we don’t know much about how blood supply to the inner ear is controlled. Professor Dan Jagger, and Dr Richard Rainbow are studying this in more detail.
How it works
The researchers will investigate the different types of cells found in the blood vessels of the inner ear and how they normally work. They will then test the effects of drugs that are known to affect blood supply in other organs of the body, looking for possible treatments to prevent hearing loss caused by problems with blood supply to the inner ear.
Finally, they will study how diseases like diabetes, which damage blood vessels, might contribute to hearing loss.
How will this research benefit people at risk of hearing loss?
Their work will give us a better understanding of how the blood supply to the inner ear works, and how changes to this may affect our hearing. Even better, it could also identify potential drugs to better control the inner ear’s blood supply when it’s failing – and so prevent hearing loss.
What we’ve learned so far
The study found that the cells found in the blood vessels of the inner ear work differently from those found in other organs. Therefore, the blood supply to the inner ear could not be directly modified by using drugs that target these cells, indicating that they should not be pursued as therapeutic targets.
About the researcher
Professor Dan Jagger is Professor of Cell Physiology at The Ear Institute, University of College London. He was awarded an RNID Discovery Research Grant for this project in 2019.
I have been working in hearing research for more than 30 years, yet I am continually fascinated by how it is an area of science at an intersection of biology, physics, engineering and many other specialities. Every day is a learning day for me.”
