On the battlefield, a soldier’s hearing can be permanently damaged in an instant by the boom of an explosion, and thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq have some permanent hearing loss. But what if soldiers could take a pill before going on duty that would prevent damage to hearing?Research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests a medicinal form of hearing protection may someday be a possibility. A group headed by Jianxin Bao, Ph.D. [click for full article]