‘Life-changing’ gene therapy helps deaf people to hearThe sound of progress has rarely been so literal. This week a “life-changing” breakthrough in gene therapy has given people born with genetic hearing loss potential for recovering some of their hearing. A study published this week reveals how developments in gene therapy are providing a “huge step forward” in the genetic treatment of deafness. The study followed 10 patients who received the therapy to treat a genetic form of deafness caused by mutations in a gene called OTOF. “This is a huge step forward in the genetic treatment of deafness, one that can be life-changing for children and adults,” said study author Maoli Duan, a consultant at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet.