Hearing Loss

Hearing loss, impairment or deafness may be of two major types: one that develops some time in life, one that a baby is born with – or congenital deafness. Most commonly, hearing loss is seen with age or is caused by exposure to loud noises.

What is hearing loss?

More than 10 million people in the United Kingdom have some form of hearing loss. Of these about 688,000 are severely or profoundly deaf.

Types of Hearing Loss

Causes of Hearing Loss

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Hearing Loss

Treatment of hearing loss

Preventing Noise-induced Hearing Loss

Age-Related Hearing Loss (ARHL) / Presbycusis

Hearing Loss Research

Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL)

Conductive Hearing Loss

Newborn Hearing Screening

Dealing with Hearing Loss

See more featured articles »

Hearing Loss and Genetics

Recent Developments in Hearing Technology

What is Safe Listening?

Latest Hearing Loss News and Research

U.S. dementia cases expected to surge with aging population

A new study shows that the risk of developing dementia anytime after age 55 among Americans is 42%, more than double the risk reported by older studies.

13 Jan 2025

Totally implantable cochlear implant promises a new era of hearing restoration

Scientists have developed a totally implantable cochlear implant that delivers hearing performance comparable to conventional devices while improving quality of life and eliminating the need for external components.

12 Jan 2025

Aircraft noise pollution harms arteries, but heart drugs show promise in animal model research

Alpha- and beta-blockers reduce oxidative stress and inflammation caused by aircraft noise but fail to prevent hypertension, highlighting their potential to protect vascular health in noise-exposed individuals.

9 Jan 2025

Decades of research push cytomegalovirus vaccine closer to reality

Researchers review decades of progress in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) vaccine development, emphasizing challenges, innovative platforms, and the critical need for effective prevention strategies.

6 Jan 2025

Brain's dual role in processing touch and hearing revealed

Ludwig van Beethoven began to lose his hearing at age 28 and was deaf by age 44. While the cause of his hearing loss remains a topic of scientific debate and ongoing revision, one thing is clear: Despite his hearing loss, Beethoven never ceased to compose music, likely because he was able to sense the vibrations of musical instruments and "hear" music through the sense of touch, researchers believe.

19 Dec 2024

Online training improves voice recognition for older adults

Online training that helps people recognize and understand new voices could be key to helping older adults improve communication in everyday environments, finds research by UCL experts.

9 Dec 2024

Researchers aim to uncover causes of acquired hearing loss and find potential therapies

With a new five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders, researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Mass Eye and Ear will study what causes acquired hearing loss (AHL) and seek new ways to protect against it.

3 Dec 2024

UK’s hearing loss organizations address misleading claims about dementia

The UK’s leading hearing loss organizations have joined forces to highlight misleading reports by some health professionals and the media that hearing loss causes dementia, and treating hearing loss will reduce our individual risk of dementia.

2 Dec 2024

Cetuximab performs better than durvalumab in treating head and neck cancers

Head and neck cancers are the seventh most common type of cancer worldwide, according to the 2020 World Cancer Report. Smokers and drinkers, as well as those with HPV infections, are disproportionately affected.

22 Nov 2024

First 'blueprint' of human skeletal development offers new insights into bone formation

The first 'blueprint' of human skeletal development reveals how the skeleton forms, shedding light on the process of arthritis, and highlighting cells involved in conditions that affect skull and bone growth.

21 Nov 2024

Early radiosurgery for small cranial nerve tumors can prevent future complications

Patients with a small cranial nerve tumor that can cause hearing loss, vertigo, imbalance and ringing in the ears have typically been watched rather than proactively treated, as the risks of early intervention were thought to outweigh the benefits.

12 Nov 2024

New active substance shows promise in treating acute sudden hearing loss

A research team led by MedUni Vienna has investigated AC102, a new active substance that offers hope of an effective treatment for acute sudden hearing loss. The latest results have been published in the scientific journal "Cell Death & Disease".

5 Nov 2024

Unlocking the secrets of Usher syndrome

The mistakes are small but carry severe consequences: In Usher syndrome, genetic mutations cause both hearing and vision loss. Cell biologist Professor Uwe Wolfrum from Mainz University is researching the molecular background of this rare genetic disorder - supported by foundations and, not least, by affected individuals themselves

28 Oct 2024

New drug WNTinib shows promise in treating pediatric liver cancer

A new drug called WNTinib can delay the growth of tumors and improve survival in hepatoblastoma, a type of liver cancer that occurs in young children.

22 Oct 2024

The Women's Health Initiative continues to provide a wealth of nutrition insights

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a landmark study among 161,808 postmenopausal women that has been ongoing for more than 40 years, continues to contribute a wealth of insights towards the advancement of the science of nutrition.

18 Oct 2024

Shift Bioscience raises $16 M to advance cell simulation AI platform

Shift Bioscience is a biotech company using generative AI models to understand how activation of different genes can reverse the aging process. This research is a fundamental step forward in designing more effective drugs to treat age-related diseases.

From Shift Bioscience 16 Oct 2024

Vagus nerve stimulation enhances perceptual learning in mice

Just as a musician can train to more sharply distinguish subtle differences in pitch, mammals can improve their ability to interpret hearing, vision, and other senses with practice.

9 Oct 2024

Houston Methodist researchers join national consortium to develop herpesvirus vaccine

Houston Methodist researchers will be part of a national consortium funded by an up to $49 million award from the U.S. Government's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to develop a vaccine against two of the most common and destructive strains of herpesviruses that latently infect a majority of Americans and can lead to acute infections, multiple forms of cancer, autoimmune disease and birth defects.

3 Oct 2024

Do long genes hold the key to understanding the genetic underpinnings of aging?

Review highlights the growing evidence that aging is linked to reduced expression of long genes, offering insights into potential anti-aging therapies based on gene length.

19 Sep 2024