Scientific main prize for renowned hearing loss researcher

Scientific main prize for renowned hearing loss researcher

M. Charles Liberman, PhD, whose research has forever changed the way experts understand the underlying causes of hearing loss, has been awarded the top scientific prize from France-based La Fondation Pour l’Audition.

The award is one of the highest honors in hearing science and was awarded to Dr. Liberman on October 20, 2022 at a ceremony in Paris, France. The main scientific prize is endowed with 100,000 euros.

La Fondation Pour l’Audition is a non-profit foundation committed to bringing together research, healthcare and disease prevention in hearing loss. As part of this mission, it rewards and supports pioneering hearing researchers.

Dr. Liberman, the Harold F. Schuknecht Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School, was previously director of Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass Eye and Ear for more than 25 years, where he continues to be a research scientist. In his five-decade career, Dr. Liberman pioneered research into the pathological causes of hearing loss in the inner ear. In 2009, Dr. Liberman co-discovered a phenomenon called cochlear synaptopathy, also known as “hidden hearing loss,” a groundbreaking discovery that has since shaped the world's understanding of the causes of hearing loss.

Dr. Liberman's research upended the dogma of what was known about the cause of hearing loss in the inner ear, and this work had a profound and lasting impact on the entire field of hearing science. His work and leadership at Mass Eye and Ear made Eaton-Peabody Laboratories the premier hearing research center in the world, and we congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition of his impressive career and lasting contributions.”

Mark A. Varvares, MD, FACS, chief of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Mass Eye and Ear and John W. Merriam/William W. Montgomery Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Harvard Medical School

Transformative discovery of hidden hearing losses

According to the World Health Organization, hearing loss affects more than 5 percent of the world's population, an estimated 430 million people.

One of the most common complaints hearing doctors receive from patients is difficulty hearing in noisy environments. However, many of these patients do not have measurable hearing loss deficits on the audiogram, which is generally considered the gold standard hearing test. The audiogram measures the loss of hair cells, the sensory cells in the inner ear. Dr. Liberman and Sharon Kujawa, PhD, Sheldon and Dorothea Buckler Chair in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Mass Eye and Ear and Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School, uncovered the basis of this discrepancy in 2009. Their groundbreaking study showed that noise exposure and aging first damage the synapses that connect hair cells with the Connect auditory nerve fibers and ultimately transmit neuronal signals to the brain. This hearing loss is now known as cochlear synaptopathy. Because audiograms measure hair cell function, this synaptic loss is usually not documented, leading to the popular term “hidden hearing loss.”

The research of Dr. Liberman has also shown that it is possible to successfully restore the connections between hair cells and auditory nerve fibers in animal models by administering therapeutic drugs called neurotrophins. This work has led biotechnology companies to develop new therapies to treat hearing loss in people.

About Dr. Liberman

Dr. Liberman received his PhD in physiology from Harvard University in 1976 before joining Mass Eye and Ear as a research associate. He was named director of Eaton-Peabody Laboratories in 1996 and helped foster tremendous growth and an endowment that has grown to $12 million for hearing research. From 2011 to 2022, Dr. Liberman also serves as vice chair of basic research for the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He is past president of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology.

Dr. Liberman has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles throughout his career. He and his colleagues continue to research hidden hearing loss and other hearing disorders such as tinnitus, hoping to develop more sensitive tests and new treatments. Future research led by Dr. Liberman is divided into a collaborative National Institutes of Health (NIH) P50 grant on hidden hearing loss and an individual NIH R01 grant on the mechanisms and potential treatments of noise-induced hearing loss in animal models.

Source:

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

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