Rogaine for ear hair.

I've been laughing a bit lately about all the stories reporting on IPod's and hearing loss (especially the potential lawsuits) - I seem to remember the same story in the 80's when walkmen were all the rave. Well either way.. it seems that scientists from MGH have gained some ground in regenerating new hair cells in the ear (well at least in mice).

So... here's the definition of the problem...

Named for the hair-like projections on their surfaces, hair cells form a ribbon of vibration sensors along the length of the cochlea - the organ of the inner ear that senses sound - where they convert sonic vibrations to electrical signals that are carried to the brain. The cells are very sensitive to damage from excessive noise, infections and toxins. Once damaged, hair cells do not naturally regenerate in mammals, and their death accounts for most types of acquired hearing loss.

and the solution...

"We've shown that vestibular hair cell regeneration may be achieved and may be less of an obstacle than auditory cell regeneration," Chen says. "Now we need to find ways to create a similar system in the auditory cells, and this new model will help us better understand the mechanisms behind functional hair cell regeneration. Our next step will be developing a transient, reversible block of Rb function to assess its role in both types of hair cell." Chen is an assistant professor of Neurology of Harvard Medical School (HMS).

The above mentioned article should be coming out in PNAS very soon and as far as I know is free access.

This guy has some craaazy ear hair! wow...