You’ve heard of gene therapy for diseases and cancers. But what about gene therapy for sensory disorders, like deafness?

In 2003, scientists discovered that some genes can transform certain ear cells into the hair cells that, when vibrated, generate the electrical activity that awakens your brain to the world of sound. Last year, Hinrich Staecker at the University of Kansas Medical Center and his colleagues inserted one of those genes, Atoh1 , into a harmless virus and injected it into the cochlea (a part of the inner ear) of mice. They found that two months later, the mice’s hearing had improved by about 20 decibels— approximately equivalent to the difference between covering and uncovering your ears with your hands.