Solved cryptogram
Hearing depends on rows of tiny hair cells in the inner ear, and they do not grow back.
Biology Facts, sourced to NIDCD.
What it means
Sound waves travel down the coiled cochlea and bend microscopic bundles on top of these cells, which converts the motion into a nerve signal. Different positions along the coil respond to different pitches. In humans the cells are not replaced once they are damaged by noise, disease or age, which is why hearing loss from loud sound is permanent. Birds and fish regrow theirs.
The claim comes from NIDCD, and the page it comes from was read on 2026-08-27 to confirm it still says this.
This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 68 letters over 19 different ones, graded medium.
- SourceNIDCD
- CollectionBiology Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length68 letters, 19 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- National Eye Institutemedium, 73 letters
- National Eye Institutemedium, 72 letters
- NIDCDhard, 74 letters
- NIDCDeasy, 74 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- MedlinePlusmedium, 68 letters
- NCBI Bookshelfmedium, 79 letters
- MedlinePlusmedium, 69 letters
- National Human Genome Research Institutemedium, 74 letters