An Emerging Approach of Age-Related Hearing Loss Research: Application of Integrated Multi-Omics Analysis

As one of the most common otologic diseases in the elderly, age-related hearing loss (ARHL) usually characterized by hearing loss and cognitive disorders, which have a significant impact on the elderly's physical and mental health and quality of life. However, as a typical disease of aging, it is unclear why aging causes widespread hearing impairment in the elderly. As molecular biological experiments have been conducted for research recently, ARHL is gradually established at various levels with the application and development of integrated multi-omics analysis in the studies of ARHL. Here, the recent progress in the application of multi-omics analysis in the molecular mechanisms of ARHL development and therapeutic regimens, including the combined analysis of different omics, such as transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, to screen for risk sites, risk genes, and differences in lipid metabolism, etc., is outlined and the integrated histological data further promote the profound understanding of the disease process as well as physiological mechanisms of ARHL. The advantages and disadvantages of multi-omics analysis in disease research are also discussed and the authors speculate on the future prospects and applications of this part-to-whole approach, which may provide more comprehensive guidance for ARHL and aging disease prevention and treatment.