Age-related hearing loss linked to protein deficiency, study finds

Researchers from China and US found that a drug commonly used to treat diabetes slowed down progression of hearing loss in macaques

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As the population ages and people live for longer, age-related hearing loss is expected to become more prevalent, particularly in men. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 30 Jun 2025

Scientists have discovered a key mechanism behind age-related hearing loss, and they say a common oral medication could delay its progression.

In a study of crab-eating macaques, the team from China and the United States found that a gradual deficiency in a protein vital to receptor cells in the ear was a characteristic of cochlear ageing in primates.

The researchers also found that it was possible to slow down age-related hearing loss in the monkeys by using a common diabetes medication called metformin, which they said had potential as a clinical treatment for the condition.

“Our study provides an in-depth characterisation of cellular and molecular ageing patterns in primate cochleae at an unprecedented single-cell resolution,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Aging on June 20.

“These findings lay the foundation for the development of new treatments for presbycusis and provide the possibility of personalised medicine,” said study author Wang Si, a professor at the Capital Medical University-affiliated Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing.

Presbycusis, the most common form of hearing loss, is the slow loss of hearing associated with old age. It impairs the comprehension of speech, leads to communication difficulties, and can even lead to an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.

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