Sex hormones and hearing: A pioneering area of enquiry (original) (raw)

Sensory neuroscience and biomedical research in general, have become extremely specialized. Most fields and subfields, for one attempting to enter them as a cutting-edge researcher, or as an investigator in a related field who wants to gain mastery of another area; it can take much time and effort to attain a useful, comfortable level of knowledge. Sometimes, this learning task is so daunting, few venture to undertake it, particularly as we advance professionally. The influence of sex hormones on the auditory system is one of those rare areas of investigation, where mastering what has been discovered to date, is actually feasible. This special issue of Hearing Research is a very effective introduction and summary of what is currently known about how sex hormones can effect hearing, and how in some cases, alterations in natural levels of sex hormones can lead to hearing impairment or deafness. Not surprisingly, the neonatal nature of this developing area of enquiry can be both satisfying and unsettling. Being able to master most of what is known about this sub-field of hearing research and auditory neuroscience, in real-time, is quite rewarding. However, from a mechanistic and clinical interventional point of view, it can be very frustrating. Delineation of mechanisms below the systems level, including working out of cellular and molecular pathways and biomarkers, a requirement of clinical translational innovations and drug discovery, is still a lengthy task. Some believe that one key mark of good science is that for every question that is answered, many more questions and hypotheses are generated from the experiments carried out. This is certainly the state-of-the-art stage we find ourselves in regarding what we know, and what further necessary experimentation is needed about how sex hormones can influence hearing and their involvement in hearing loss.