A role for the immune system in linking risk factors to progressive hearing loss Seminar

Abstract

The effect of Covid-19 on multiple organ systems is bringing the role of the immune system into sharp focus. Our understanding of the effects of inflammation associated with infection on the nervous system is improving. There is evidence that conditions with a progressive neurodegenerative pathology are susceptible to exacerbation as a consequence of the inflammatory response to infection. I will present our findings on hearing loss and inflammation from a small population study into age related hearing loss, and ongoing work that is investigating how the immune response may be playing a role in outcomes after cochlear implantation. Our motivation for studying the auditory system and inflammation is that it may give new mechanistic insight into the pathology of hearing loss and that better control of inflammatory responses may slow the progression of hearing loss.