It’s exciting to know that neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School and Mass Eye and Ear (Polley Lab for Auditory Neuroscience) are working on curing hyperacusis. In their recent study, which was funded by Hyperacusis Research Limited, Inc., the researchers discovered that loud noises may not be limited to hearing damage; they can also rewire the brain, leaving it stuck in a state of high alert. They were able to alleviate both hyperacusis and the fear responses it caused in mice through optogenetics (coupling genetically modified cells with lasers/light implanted into the mice’s brains; the treatment targeted overactive brain circuits using 40-Hz light pulses). Since auditory processing and emotional responses are linked, treating the physical sound sensitivity naturally eased the animals’ panic. Hopefully this breakthrough study will lead to new treatments for human hyperacusis.

Click HERE to read the study.

REFERENCES

Awwad, B., & Polley, D. B. (2026). Cortical inhibitory potentiation reverses maladaptive amygdala plasticity after noise-induced hearing loss. bioRxiv. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.02.716147v1.full.pdf.