Yes, that's the downside of using only gamma secretase inhibitors: the number of supporting cells decreases, since those cells turn into hair cells. There was a study in mice (from 2013, I think) where they showed this reduction. The good thing was that the treatment indeed improved ABR scores at low frequencies for the treated mice, somehow proportionally to the number of hair cells regenerated -- at least that was my impression when I looked at the charts, I haven't read the whole study carefully. That's why I think Frequency is a few steps ahead of the others: in theory, if it works, you could use it multiple times; just in case you screw up your ears again after a treatment, you know...
The cochlea doesn't regenerate supporting cells as far as I know. So if you have hearing loss at let's say 4000-8000 Hz and the supporting cells at those frequencies become hair cells thus depleting the supporting cells located at those frequencies, I don't think you can repeat the treatment or at least it won't be as effective. We also don't know the exact function of supporting cells so depleting them might have effects we are not aware of yet.
Sometimes hearing aids help my tinnitus and sometimes they don't. The noise could be coming from my upper neck, hard to tell. I went to a chiro on Friday and seem worse today.
That article seems to state that the brain doesn't automatically calibrate the new hair cells by itself. However, I remember reading somewhere that the auditory nerve can detect when new hair cells grow. Can anyone clarify this?
Robert Jackler at Stanford University stated that when the hair cell regenerates that the nerve regrows and reconnects and called it a "miracle".
That phrase stuck with me too.
Yeah, I don't think you should read that as "after the new hair cells are there, we need another treatment that grows the nerve endings". I think it reads as "new hair cells aren't enough, they need to be able to transmit a signal to the brain". That's exactly why Otonomy and Rinri Therapeutics are focused on regenerating the nerves (I think they focus on different missing nerves). We know there are people that have their hair cells, but are missing the nerve endings.
Miracle implying that it is a miracle of nature so positive that without it, this entire exercise wouldn't work. That kind of miracle. Thank goodness if introducing more hair cells that they reconnect to the brain.
No, but the lack of access to these kinds of events is bothering the hell out of me. They don't seem to be sharing information with non-participants whatsoever. Aren't they trying to treat us?
No, make money, that is the goal of any corporation.
Member
