Hearing loss is widespread and can be caused by aging, loud noise exposure, ear infections, or ototoxic drugs. Emerging research increasingly highlights the critical role of the immune system in the development and progression of hearing loss.

The Sung lab studies how immune cells respond to tissue injury in the cochlea, the sensory organ responsible for hearing. We focus on how macrophages and other immune cells regulate cochlear function and contribute to auditory outcomes. In the cochlea, tissue-resident cochlear macrophages maintain local homeostasis and respond to injury, while perivascular macrophages support blood vessel integrity and regulate the blood-labyrinth barrier permeability.