Prof. Thanos Tzounopoulos Receives $2 Million Grant

Totally agree. Mother nature never intended for our primate ears to deal with anything much more than what one would hear in a forest or coastline. In cases when stuff was loud, IE: thunder, falling trees, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc... it meant danger and flee...

I found Apple's hearing study particularly revealing, when it comes to the % of people that exceed daily/weekly exposure to noise on a regular basis. It just shows how much our sensors are no match for the industrialized world.

Apple Hearing Study shares new insights on hearing health

I have also been hardcore hermiting lately. Between COVID-19 and having a baby, I'm pretty much stuck at home nearly most days. I have come to not mind it so much. My house is cleaner than it has ever been, and my gardens look awesome.

 

You have a great reason to be at home. I loved staying at home with my little guy. It was the most fun I've ever had and the most exhausted I've ever been!

I haven't seen the study by Apple. I'll check it out. I worry about the future hearing of children and young people with the amount of noise they are exposed to. They even use headphones on a daily basis at school. Ugh.

 

What is the latest news about the drug that Thanos Tzounopoulos is developing?

 

Not much news unfortunately.

Although his lab is hiring a new technician. Anyone with a neuroscience BSc fancy trying to smash tinnitus?

Talent Center: Careers at Pitt — Research Technician

 

Salary is low, no wonder:

• Assignment Category: Full-time regular
• Job Classification: Staff.Research.II Non-Exempt
• Campus: Pittsburgh
• Minimum Education Level Required: Baccalaureate
• Minimum Experience Level Required: Less than 1 year experience
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Hiring Range: $20,904.00 - $32,760.00

 

That was an interesting read on Apple's hearing study. I found the link to their Noise app for Apple Watch where it, among other things, says:

Things you should know

•Sound levels are measured in A-weighted decibels.
Long-term exposure to sounds below 80 decibels should not affect your hearing. Sounds measured at this level appear as OK in the app.

Source:
Use the Noise app on your Apple Watch

I think that is misleading to conclude since there seems to be many (including me) who damaged their hearing via long term listening to sound and music at a much lower level (see my post here).

I think we need to stop saying that it's only loud noise and music over 80 decibels that can cause damage since it seems clear what the ear can handle depends on many factor, such as how fatigued it is, how sensitive the individual is and the frequencies of the sound/music.

At least that is my current view, not backed by any scientific studies. But how many studies are there taking into account the things about the ear I mentioned above?

 

Is that even minimum wage?

 

Maybe further information about Tzounopoulos research / drug description:

The Neuroscience and the Treatment of Tinnitus

"We place a special emphasis on mechanism-driven drug development informed by basic research findings.1 Several compounds are under clinical or preclinical investigation for the treatment of tinnitus, including KCNQ potassium channel openers that aim to reduce hyperexcitability in the auditory brainstem, a Group II mGluR agonist to reduce hyperexcitability in the inferior colliculus, NMDAR channel antagonists to reduce excitotoxicity in the cochlea after noise exposure, a glutathione peroxidase (GPx) inhibitor, and a T-type calcium channel blocker to reduce inflammation after noise exposure and in subsequent tinnitus."

 

Xenon Pharmaceuticals is way ahead of Prof. Tzounopoulos and has the backing of a lot of industry dollars for a drug that is the only of its kind, meant for treating certain infant epilepsy but anyone would pony up to keep their child alive.

It targeting the Kv 7.1/2 channels is a happy accident.

Same target as Retigabine (Trobalt) which seemed to help and even cure some people if we are to believe @Danny Boy (don't know why he'd make that up)