I just want to say that I've brought up cochlear hair cell regeneration to a lot of people. Real life, Reddit, emails, etc. I was surprised to find out even Biology PhDs studying the inner ear had no clue about cochlear hair cell regeneration. Most had not even heard of these companies like GenVec, Frequency, Decibel, Audion, Acousia, etc. They couldn't even fathom that companies were in and or planning to enter clinical trials.
The point is... We've had a lot of pessimists and naysayers. Including those with PhDs in neuroscience. After talking with Inner Ear Biology PhDs who had no clue hair cell regeneration was a thing I can safely say that we should not be dissuaded by naysayers. Especially ones that aren't researching the seemingly niche and advanced topic which is inner ear hair cell regeneration.
I used to get really down when people (including doctors, researchers, educated) would down play regenerating inner ear haircells. But now... If their name isn't on the masthead of Frequency, Decibel, GenVec, Acousia, Audion then I'm dismissing their opinion. Because I've talked to and had discussions with guys in Frequency and they have the utmost confidence that this could really happen. Will McClean has been saying this for years. I'm taking the word of Ivy League top class researchers that are in this field (and topic) rather than someone studying some other field like neuroscience.
Tl;DR don't be delusional but don't let the naysayers and people saying "inner ear hair cell regeneration isn't possible" get you down. What do they know that Frequency doesn't?