{"id":2517,"date":"2018-04-04T13:31:54","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T20:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T13:32:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T20:32:56","slug":"hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n
\n \n
\n\n \n Press Release<\/span>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
\n \n April 04, 2018<\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
\n\n \n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/path><\/g><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n\n \n
\n\n \n \n \n
\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n
USC and Harvard researchers are working on a way to target and reverse damage in cells in the ear that are responsible for hearing loss. (Photo\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n \n \n \n\n<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\r\n\r\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n
\n \n
\n\n \n

Researchers have developed a new approach to repair cells deep inside the ear \u2014 a potential remedy that could restore hearing for millions of elderly people and others who suffer hearing loss.
\nThe lab study, conducted by scientists at USC and Harvard University, demonstrates a novel way for a drug to zero in on damaged nerves and cells inside the ear. It\u2019s a potential remedy for a problem that afflicts two-thirds of people over 70 years and 17 percent of all adults in the United States.
\n

\"\"
(Graphic\/Matthew Savino)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\u201cWhat\u2019s new here is we figured out how to deliver a drug into the inner ear so it actually stays put and does what it\u2019s supposed to do, and that\u2019s novel,\u201d said Charles E. McKenna, a corresponding author for the study and chemistry professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. \u201cInside this part of the ear, there\u2019s fluid constantly flowing that would sweep dissolved drugs away, but our new approach addresses that problem. This is a first for hearing loss and the ear. It\u2019s also important because it may be adaptable for other drugs that need to be applied within the inner ear.\u201d
\nThe paper was published April 4 in the journal Bioconjugate Chemistry. McKenna co-authored it with David Jung of Harvard Medical School, among others. It is the latest achievement in USC\u2019s priority program to advance biomedicine, including the recent launching of the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. The Michelson Center unites USC experts across disciplines to solve some of the most intractable research challenges related to health at the molecular level. The facility will house the new USC Center of Excellence in Drug Discovery, with McKenna as its director.<\/p>\n

Caveats for the hearing loss fix<\/h3>\n

There are caveats. The research was conducted on animal tissues in a petri dish. It has not yet been tested in living animals or humans. Yet the researchers are hopeful given the similarities of cells and mechanisms involved. McKenna says since the technique works in the laboratory, the findings provide \u201cstrong preliminary evidence\u201d it could work in living creatures. They are already planning the next phase involving animals and hearing loss.
\nThe study breaks new ground because researchers developed a novel drug-delivery method. Specifically, it targets the cochlea, a snail-like structure in the inner ear where sensitive cells convey sound to the brain. Hearing loss occurs due to aging, working with noisy machines and too many loud concerts. Over time, hair-like sensory cells and bundles of neurons that transmit their vibrations break down, as do ribbon-like synapses, which connect the cells.
\nThe researchers designed a molecule combining 7,8-dihydroxyflavone, which mimics a protein critical for development and function of the nervous system, and bisphosphonate, a type of drug that sticks to bones. The pairing of the two delivered the breakthrough solution, the researchers said, as neurons responded to the molecule, regenerating synapses in mouse ear tissue that led to repair of the hair cells and neurons, which are essential to hearing.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not saying it\u2019s a cure for hearing loss,\u201d McKenna said. \u201cIt\u2019s a proof of principle for a new approach that\u2019s extremely promising. It\u2019s an important step that offers a lot of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Hidden hearing loss\u2019<\/h3>\n

Hearing loss is projected to increase as the U.S. population ages. Previous research has shown that hearing loss is expected to nearly double in 40 years. Damage to the inner ear can lead to \u201chidden hearing loss,\u201d which is difficulty hearing whispers and soft sounds, especially in noisy places. The new research gives hope to many hoping to avoid loss of hearing and quality of life.<\/p>\n

\n

The authors include lead researcher Judith S. Kempfle, as well as Christine Hamadani, Nicholas Koen, Albert S. Edge and David H. Jung of Harvard Medical School and The Eaton-Peabody Laboratories in Boston. Kempfle is also affiliated with the University of T\u00fcbingen Medical Center. Corresponding author McKenna, as well as Kim Nguyen and Boris A. Kashemirov, are at USC Dornsife.
\nThis work was supported by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Herbert Silverstein Otology and Neurotology Research Award, the American Otological SocietyResearch Grant and by a $567,783 grant from the National Institute of Deafness and other Communicative Disorders (R01 DC007174).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers have developed a new approach to repair cells deep inside the ear \u2014 a potential remedy that could restore hearing for millions of elderly people and others who suffer hearing loss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":2518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[139,135,16],"class_list":["post-2517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-medicine-engineering-science-and-humanities-program","tag-mesh","tag-otolaryngology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers have developed a new approach to repair cells deep inside the ear \u2014 a potential remedy that could restore hearing for millions of elderly people and others who suffer hearing loss.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KECKschoolUSC\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-04T20:31:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-23T20:32:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"447\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Keck School Media Relations\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@KeckSchool_USC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@KeckSchool_USC\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Keck School Media Relations\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7a561f66e227685c2825e2c2f40e8fa2\"},\"headline\":\"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-04T20:31:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-23T20:32:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":10,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/68\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Medicine, Engineering, Science, and Humanities Program\",\"Mesh\",\"Otolaryngology\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Press Release\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/68\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-04T20:31:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-23T20:32:56+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/68\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/68\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":447,\"caption\":\"USC and Harvard researchers are working on a way to target and reverse damage in cells in the ear that are responsible for hearing loss. (Photo\\\/Shutterstock)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Keck School of Medicine of USC\",\"alternateName\":\"Keck School of Medicine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/68\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/keck-school-of-medicine-logo-696-square.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/68\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/keck-school-of-medicine-logo-696-square.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Keck School of Medicine of USC\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/KECKschoolUSC\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/KeckSchool_USC\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/keckschoolusc\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/KeckSchoolUSC\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCpL1E1W5ZTfkc5iihwLSFEA\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@keckschoolusc\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7a561f66e227685c2825e2c2f40e8fa2\",\"name\":\"Keck School Media Relations\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6b319538a9488520b1cb0d3154ed0c97262d4d94d2b325f8260b196b9083b893?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6b319538a9488520b1cb0d3154ed0c97262d4d94d2b325f8260b196b9083b893?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6b319538a9488520b1cb0d3154ed0c97262d4d94d2b325f8260b196b9083b893?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Keck School Media Relations\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/keck.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/author\\\/ksommarketing\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions","og_description":"Researchers have developed a new approach to repair cells deep inside the ear \u2014 a potential remedy that could restore hearing for millions of elderly people and others who suffer hearing loss.","og_url":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KECKschoolUSC\/","article_published_time":"2018-04-04T20:31:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-23T20:32:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":447,"url":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Keck School Media Relations","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@KeckSchool_USC","twitter_site":"@KeckSchool_USC","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/"},"author":{"name":"Keck School Media Relations","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7a561f66e227685c2825e2c2f40e8fa2"},"headline":"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions","datePublished":"2018-04-04T20:31:54+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-23T20:32:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/"},"wordCount":10,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg","keywords":["Medicine, Engineering, Science, and Humanities Program","Mesh","Otolaryngology"],"articleSection":["Press Release"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/","url":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/","name":"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-04T20:31:54+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-23T20:32:56+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/hope-for-hearing-loss.jpg","width":600,"height":447,"caption":"USC and Harvard researchers are working on a way to target and reverse damage in cells in the ear that are responsible for hearing loss. (Photo\/Shutterstock)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/hearing-loss-study-at-usc-harvard-shows-hope-for-millions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hearing loss study at USC, Harvard shows hope for millions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#organization","name":"Keck School of Medicine of USC","alternateName":"Keck School of Medicine","url":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/keck-school-of-medicine-logo-696-square.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/keck-school-of-medicine-logo-696-square.jpg","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Keck School of Medicine of USC"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KECKschoolUSC\/","https:\/\/x.com\/KeckSchool_USC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/keckschoolusc\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/KeckSchoolUSC\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCpL1E1W5ZTfkc5iihwLSFEA","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@keckschoolusc"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/7a561f66e227685c2825e2c2f40e8fa2","name":"Keck School Media Relations","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b319538a9488520b1cb0d3154ed0c97262d4d94d2b325f8260b196b9083b893?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b319538a9488520b1cb0d3154ed0c97262d4d94d2b325f8260b196b9083b893?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b319538a9488520b1cb0d3154ed0c97262d4d94d2b325f8260b196b9083b893?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Keck School Media Relations"},"url":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/author\/ksommarketing\/"}]}},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Keck School Media Relations","author_link":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/author\/ksommarketing\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2023\/11\/hope-for-hearing-loss-300x224.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/category\/press-release\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Press Release<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Press Release<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/category\/press-release\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Medicine, Engineering, Science, and Humanities Program<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/category\/press-release\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Mesh<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/category\/press-release\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Otolaryngology<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Medicine, Engineering, Science, and Humanities Program<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Mesh<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Otolaryngology<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 8 years ago","modified":"Updated 6 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 4, 2018","modified":"Updated on October 23, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 4, 2018 1:31 pm","modified":"Updated on October 23, 2025 1:32 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"USC and Harvard researchers are working on a way to target and reverse damage in cells in the ear that are responsible for hearing loss. (Photo\/Shutterstock)","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}