The search for new therapies for deafness has taken a significant step forward after scientists successfully grew a critical type of ear cell in mammals for the first time.

CAN YOU SPEAK UP A BIT, PLEASE????

The achievement, by a team whose leader is himself profoundly hard of hearing, offers the best indication yet that it is possible to regenerate ear hair cells that are the key to most hearing impairment.

DID YOU JUST SAY SOMETHING????

Between 60 and 90 per cent of cases of deafness and hearing loss are caused by damage to hair cells in a part of the inner ear called the cochlea that pick up sound and activate the nerves that transmit this sensory information to the brain. The damage can also contribute to tinnitus – a ringing in the ears that affects about seven million Britons.

IT'S ABOUT 2 O'CLOCK!!!