The phrase “perk up your ears” made more sense last year after scientists discovered how the quietest sounds are amplified in the cochlea before being transmitted to the brain. When a sound is barely audible, extremely sensitive inner-ear “hair cells” – which are neurons equipped with tiny, sensory hairs on their surface – pump up the sound by their very motion and mechanically amplify it…
New research from the US suggests that the brain uses separate pathways to process the start and the end of sounds, a discovery that could change our ideas about how we hear and understand speech and lead to improvements in how we help children with speech and hearing problems and the design of hearing aids…
A team of University of Oregon researchers have isolated an independent processing channel of synapses inside the brain’s auditory cortex that deals specifically with shutting off sound processing at appropriate times. Such regulation is vital for hearing and for understanding speech. The discovery, detailed in the Feb…
Surgically implanted hearing aids anchored to the skull bone appear to be a durable treatment option that noticeably improves hearing among children with deafness in one ear, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals…
Many parents watching the celebratory ending of the big game saw the now iconic moment of a child wearing protective earmuffs to reduce the noise of the stadium cheers. The noise-reduction earmuffs, Peltor branded and made by 3M, are a simple item that any parent can have on hand…
A new Cochrane review did not find clear evidence that taking zinc supplements reduces the occurrence of middle ear infections or otitis media in healthy children. About 164 million people around the world have long-term hearing loss caused by inflammation of the middle ear, and about 90 percent live in developing countries. “Deafness is a disaster for these children…
Otonomy, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted clearance of the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the clinical trial of OTO-104 in patients with Meniere’s disease, a debilitating disorder of the inner ear affecting balance and hearing…
Patients who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, who seek treatment at the Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania (OIP), will receive qualified interpreters when needed for effective communication as required by federal law under a Settlement Agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)…
Learning words may be facilitated by early exposure to auditory input, according to research presented by the Indiana University School of Medicine at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in San Diego, Feb. 18-22. A growing body of evidence points to the importance of early auditory input for developing language skills…
Profoundly deaf children with cochlear implants to help them to hear rate their quality of life equal to their normal-hearing peers, according to new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center auditory specialists…
Profoundly deaf children with cochlear implants to help them to hear rate their quality of life equal to their normal-hearing peers, according to new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center auditory specialists…
In a study published in the March 2010 issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers determined that regular use of aspirin, acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increases the risk of hearing loss in men, particularly in younger men, below age 60. Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in the US, afflicting over 36 million people…
The American Academy of Audiology on behalf of audiologists, and the Hearing Loss Association of America on behalf of people with hearing loss announce a collaborative public education campaign “Get in the Hearing Loop…
The American Academy of Audiology on behalf of audiologists, and the Hearing Loss Association of America on behalf of people with hearing loss announce a collaborative public education campaign “Get in the Hearing Loop…
Researchers have launched a unique project to improve early diagnosis and management of dementia among Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL). The research, funded by Alzheimer’s Society, will examine how to identify dementia in Deaf people and explore how they might best cope with their condition…
Scientists have gained new insight into why a relatively short-term hearing deprivation during childhood may lead to persistent hearing deficits, long after hearing is restored to normal…
Loss of spiral ganglion neurons or hair cells in the inner ear is the leading cause of congenital and acquired hearing impairment. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health found that Sox2, a protein that regulates stem cell formation, is involved in spiral ganglion neuron development…
New research has found giving up caffeine does not relieve tinnitus and acute caffeine withdrawal might add to the problem. This is the first study of its kind to look at the effect of caffeine consumption on tinnitus…
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified neurons in the songbird brain that convey the auditory feedback needed to learn a song. Their research lays the foundation for improving human speech, for example, in people whose auditory nerves are damaged and who must learn to speak without the benefit of hearing their own voices…
2010 marks the 30th year of the E-A-R™ Hearing Conservation Clinics. These educational seminars, presented by 3M, provide practical information on how to enhance hearing conservation programs that help protect workers who are exposed to on-the-job noise…
Lives of millions of people with hearing difficulties may soon benefit from several new grants for research from leading medical research charity, deafness research UK. One of the grants for a pilot study involves finding out if there is a possible relationship between age related hearing loss, genetics and the environment…
Listening to an iPod while working out feels like second nature to many people, but University of Alberta researcher Bill Hodgetts says we need to consider the volume levels in our earphones while working up a sweat…
Hearing professionals working in the NHS have a chance to be recognised as the country’s best following the launch of an exciting audiology competition. The 2010 Audiologist of the Year award has been launched to find the year’s outstanding hearing professional…
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) will provide qualified sign language interpreters as required by federal law to deaf and hard-of-hearing persons using its programs and services across the state under a Settlement Agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)…
A type of antibiotic that can cause hearing loss in people has been found to paradoxically protect the ears when given in extended low doses in very young mice. The surprise finding came from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who looked to see if loud noise and the antibiotic kanamycin together would produce a bigger hearing loss than either factor by itself…
