3 deaf mice? Studies on mice have found a new form of gene therapy that effectively cures genetic deafness.

Financial Express reports that Boston Children’s Hospital is working on research to tease out and treat the genetic cause for congenital deafness. In a recent study, mice with the responsible TCMI gene either completely deleted or damaged had the gene restored through manual injection. The treatment allowed the ears’ sensory hairs to respond to sound and transmit that response to the brain. Basically, the once-deaf mice could hear again.

Pioneer News published comments by one of the study’s leaders, scientist Jeffrey Holt, who reports that seeing the mices’ ears begin to respond to sound was “one of those ‘Eureka!’ moments.” Holt, who also works at Harvard medical school, called the results too “premature” for clinical trials but said that he was “optimistic” about the possibility of bringing the treatment to the general public.

Holt explained that the current treatment only restored hearing for a few months, and more studies would be necessary to see if the effects could be extended. However, he did praise the simplicity of the injection, expressing hope that once it is improved and refined “it might be a simple outpatient procedure.”

Future studies will also focus on other forms of deafness, such as the genetic condition Usher syndrome that affects both hearing and vision.