Breakthrough: Protein that helps people hear found

London: A protein in the inner ear helps people differentiate between sounds and understand speech, French researchers reported in a finding that could help treat the hard of hearing.
   The study also helps explain why some people have difficulty hearing in crowded restaurants or other noisy places, said Paul Avan, a researcher at the University of Auvergne, France. "This won't help cure deafness but will help diagnose why some people have hearing problems, especially in noisy places," Avan, who worked on the study, said.
   The study, which used genetically engineered mice, looked at the part of the inner ear called the cochlea, which contains two types of sensory cells to detect sounds.
   Scientists often study mice because of the biological similarities between the animals and humans. Until now people had thought that structures called ion channels found in the cells — which work like a microphone to transform sound into electrical messages — were mainly responsible for distorting sound in the ear.
   Distortion is important because it allows people to pick out the correct sounds from a mixture of noises, such as it be competing conversations at a cocktail party.
   But the researchers showed how a protein called stereocilin was keeping sensory cells intact and allowing the inner ear to properly distort sounds. The findings could help doctors fit certain people with special hearing aids that eliminate noise from certain directions.
   "Until now it was thought that if the ion channels worked everything would be okay," Avan said. "We show that this is not the case. Sensitivity will be good but that does nothing if you don't understand anything if it is noisy around you." REUTERS