Ear tissue engineering

From a bioengineer’s point of view, the ear is an exciting target for regeneration and repair. The minute size, variegated shape, and histological nature of its tissue components, many of them subject to vibratory motion, the diverse biological interfaces providing signal transmission and transduction, from mechanical into electrical, the frequent infections, and the ototoxicity issues, ultimately render the ear, one of the most difficult organs for the long-term effective application of biomaterials. This chapter describes the ways tissue engineering (TE) is approaching such a peculiar body site by focusing onto its main constitutive parts, from the auricle to the eardrum and ossicles up to the cochlea, with the intent to show the great potential of such outside research studies and to provide a comprehensive outline that could build a solid basement for future knowledge. The collected data show that a TE approach in ear reconstruction needs creative and diversified biomaterial-based strategies to go beyond complexity and provide solutions for deafness. Ear TE finally represents an intense but promising challenge to be absolutely investigated from a multidisciplinary point of view.