December 3, 2025

Ezgi Dere

Işıkkent High School

11th Grade

Hearing is one of our most important abilities that enables us to sustain our lives, one of our five senses, thanks to the complex mechanisms in the ear. How our ears work is still a fascinating topic these days. Inside the bony, snail-shaped shell known as the cochlea, thousands of microscopic hair cells are located, and they are the key to the ability of hearing, as they ensure the transmission of sound and vibrations. Also, it is possible that you have some complications from birth in your hearing ability. While not ignoring the possibility of accidents occurring, the main reasons for loss of hearing ability are mostly because of birth and genetics. However, the modern world and scientists are working really hard to cure this dysfunction. 

Scientists have been stating and thinking that hearing loss is irreversible. Nevertheless, a new gene therapy has been discovered, which is related to replacing the nonfunctioning OTOF gene in the cochlea with its copy. In a functioning ear, normal OTOF genes work within sensory cells, which are the key elements because of how they perceive sound through vibration, activating the auditory nerve to then send impulses to the brain.

Scientists deliver healthy copies of the OTOF gene directly into the inner ear using a modified virus known as a viral vector. This medical treatment is called in vivo gene therapy, which allows them to be inserted directly into the cells to treat the mutation.

 The first usage of this therapy was on a girl from the United Kingdom named Opal Sandly, which was a success. Opal previously couldn’t hear anything due to a genetic complication in her OTOF genes. The cochlea is located in a part that is hard to reach, so the virus was delivered to the inner ear using a special device. Eventually, she got her hearing ability back. 

In conclusion, this discovery in gene therapy has brought new perspectives and hopes as well as new question marks. How is this going to affect the process for finding a cure for hearing loss? We still don’t know, but within this innovation, we know that more cures are coming up for other complex genetic problems and mutations.