And the cloning of individual hair cells is only a decade away.

Unfortunately, humans only have so many hair cells and can't grow new ones like some species.

It is a 2 mm by 3mm patch of hair cells.

There are approximately 15,000 hair cells in each human ear (see figure).

Hair cells in fish are used to detect water movements around their bodies.

The hair cells near this area best detect low frequency sounds.

Some 30 million Americans suffer significant hearing loss, most of which is caused by damage to the hair cells.

The sensitive hair cells can be damaged by noise, however.

There are two types of hair cells: inner and outer.

The brain knows a sound is louder because more hair cells are activated in an area.