It has been previously demonstrated that noise exposure leads to activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and that inhibition of this pathway protects from hearing loss. Tizaterkib (formerly AZD-0364) is a novel, highly selective, orally bioavailable ERK1/2 inhibitor that is currently in early clinical development for the treatment of cancer. In recent work, investigators from Creighton University aimed to assess the potential of tizaterkib for the treatment of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).