Bettina Cockroft, Chief Medical Officer of Cilcare, speaks about a rapidly evolving area of hearing science: cochlear synaptopathy or so-called “hidden hearing loss.” The episode explores how damage to the connections between inner-ear hair cells and the auditory nerve can affect the ability to process sound even with a “normal” audiogram, and how this may be connected to tinnitus and hyperacusis.

Bettina then takes us inside Cilcare’s work on Paliroden (formerly CIL-001), a drug designed to target cochlear synaptopathy. We discuss how the drug is delivered to the inner ear, what Cilcare has learned from previous hearing drug failures, and how its observational studies and biomarker research are informing upcoming clinical trials. Crucially for tinnitus patients, Cilcare is preparing a study involving people with tinnitus to kick off in 2026

(00:00) Introductions

(06:22) The Discovery of Cochlear Synaptopathy

(16:33) About Cilcare

(23:58) How CIL-001 Works

(33:37) Clinical Trial Patient Selection

(37:58) Who Might CIL-001 Help?

(42:53) The Relationship between Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, and Hyperacusis

(47:13) Timelines

(51:50) Concluding Remarks

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