According to the National Institute on Deafness and Communication
Disorders (NIDCD) 1 in every 350 infants is born with a significant
hearing loss. Hearing loss occurs more often than any other medical
condition for which newborn screening is
available. To date, no treatment is available to reverse or repair an
acquired sensorineural hearing loss. Recently, the FDA approved the
first Phase I trial that will evaluate the safety of using a child’s own
cord blood stem cells to regenerate cells in the inner ear and
potentially restore a child’s hearing.