{"id":8385,"date":"2026-04-24T14:10:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=8385"},"modified":"2026-04-24T14:10:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:10:25","slug":"cure-for-deafness-breakthrough-gene-drug-otarmeni-set-to-be-offered-free-to-american-children-with-total-hearing-loss-following-fda-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=8385","title":{"rendered":"Cure for deafness: Breakthrough gene drug Otarmeni set to be offered FREE to American children with total hearing loss following FDA approval"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By LUKE ANDREWS, U.S. SENIOR HEALTH CORRESPONDENT<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published:<\/span>

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A breakthrough treatment that could allow deaf children to hear a whisper has been approved in the US \u2014 and is set to be offered to American children for free.<\/p>\n

The Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to Regeneron’s gene therapy Otarmeni on Thursday, a treatment for a rare form of hearing loss that leaves babies completely deaf or only able to hear very loud sounds from birth.<\/p>\n

The condition, known as OTOF-related hearing loss, affects about 50 babies in the US every year and is caused by a mutation in the OTOF gene, which causes a malformed protein to be made that stops signals from sounds being transferred to the brain.<\/p>\n

In clinical trials involving 20 children with the mutation, 16 showed significant improvements in hearing after receiving the therapy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Five of the children were also able to hear a whisper for the first time.<\/p>\n

Experts have hailed the treatment as ‘life-changing’ for families, while Regeneron’s vice president said it marked the beginning of a ‘new era’ of hearing loss treatments.<\/p>\n

Sierra Smith, whose two-and-a-half-year-old son Travis was treated with the gene therapy, said it had opened up a ‘different world’ to her family.<\/p>\n

She said: ‘Watching him be able to interact with other children and even him knowing his name now and turning when I say his name is the craziest thing.<\/p>\n

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\"OTOF-related <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

OTOF-related hearing loss is a genetic condition where sounds are not transmitted from the ear to the brain (stock image)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n