Hearing loss is a disability that affects approximately 5% of the world’s population. Clinically determining the exact site of the lesion is critical for choosing a proper treatment for hearing loss. For example, subjects with damage in sound conduction or mild outer hair cell damage would benefit from hearing aids, while those with significant damage to outer or inner hair cells would benefit from cochlear implants. On the other hand, the subjects with impairments in more central structures such as the cochlear nerve, brainstem, or brain do not benefit from either hearing aids or cochlear implants. However, the role of impairments in cochlear glial cells in hearing loss is not as well known. While it is known that connexin channels in cochlear glial cells play important role in mediating potassium current in the cochlea, the molecular and cellular mechanism of connexin channels and their role in progressive hearing loss has not been studied extensively.
