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Researchers may have figured out ways to attack Meniere's disease

Researchers at University of Colorado School of Medicine may have figured out what causes Meniere's disease and how to attack it. According to Carol Foster, MD, from the department of otolaryngology and Robert Breeze, MD, a neurosurgeon, there is a strong association between Meniere's disease and conditions involving temporary low blood flow in the brain such as migraine headaches.

7 Dec 2013

Study: Track-side noise may exceed 8,500% of person's daily recommended noise exposure

As an acoustical engineer, Craig Dolder - currently a graduate student at the University of Texas, Austin - knew that loud noises can damage hearing. Even so, when Canada's Formula 1 Grand Prix coincided with an Acoustical Society of America (ASA) meeting that he was attending in Montreal, Quebec, earlier this year, Dolder was drawn to the racetrack and the deafening roar of the Formula 1 engines.

5 Dec 2013

Diversity essential for brain's ability to localize sounds

The ability to localize the source of sound is important for navigating the world and for listening in noisy environments like restaurants, an action that is particularly difficult for elderly or hearing impaired people.

4 Dec 2013

Computer models of neuronal sound processing in brain lead to cochlear implant improvements

Intact hearing is a prerequisite for learning to speak. This is why children who are born deaf are fitted with so-called cochlear implants as early as possible. Cochlear implants consist of a speech processor and a transmitter coil worn behind the ear, together with the actual implant, an encapsulated microprocessor placed under the skin to directly stimulate the auditory nerve via an electrode with up to 22 contacts.

3 Dec 2013

Medicaid expansion could exacerbate doctor shortage

As more people gain access to coverage as a result of the health law's expansion of the state-federal insurance program for the poor, finding doctors willing to treat them may be a challenge. Other stories look at how Americans in similar circumstances face vastly different health coverage options because of where they live.

3 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 2, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about healthcare.gov's status, the challenges that lie ahead and the concerns being expressed by consumers and insurers.

2 Dec 2013

Miller Reese Hutchinson patents first portable electric hearing aid

This month in 1901 brought good news for the hard of hearing, as Miller Reese Hutchinson of New York patented the first portable electric hearing aid. Called the "acousticon," the device was a smaller version of previous tabletop units.

28 Nov 2013

Auditory processing disorder diagnosis: an interview with Dr Doris-Eva Bamiou, UCL Ear Institute

It is a listening or hearing disorder, which is due to the brain’s defective analysis of sounds, so that individuals who are affected with this disorder cannot make sense of what they hear.

26 Nov 2013

Director of Scheie Eye Institute honored with WIO's Suzanne Veronneau Troutman Award

Joan M. O'Brien, MD, the George E. de Schweinitz and William F. Norris Professor of Ophthalmology, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and director of the Scheie Eye Institute at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was recently presented with the Women in Ophthalmology's Suzanne Veronneau Troutman Award.

26 Nov 2013

Expert offers tips for families to avoid sensory processing disorders during holiday travels

While holiday travels can be stressful for any family, the season presents greater challenges for families of children with sensory processing disorders. Varleisha Gibbs OTD, OTR/L, director of doctoral projects and assistant professor of occupational therapy at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, said attempting to coordinate a child's sensory, dietary, and energy needs while traveling can make a holiday getaway seem like a full-time job.

26 Nov 2013

Chicken eggs can provide better understanding of human birth defects

Clemson University researchers found that chicken eggs can provide a better understanding of human birth defects. Susan Chapman, associate professor in Clemson's College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, received a South Carolina IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence award that allowed researchers to identify two regions in the chicken genome that are associated with congenital deafness and spine deformities in humans.

26 Nov 2013

Genetic diagnostic test for inherited eye diseases now available from Mass. Eye and Ear

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology today announced the availability of a comprehensive genetic diagnostic test for inherited eye diseases.

22 Nov 2013

Study reveals benefits of bright light in treating anxiety

The bright light headset maker Valkee today announced the results of a new groundbreaking bright light study, showing statistically significant positive results in acutely alleviating anxiety symptoms. The world's first randomized, fully sham-controlled double blind trial of bright light treatment administered via ear canals brings sought-after new data to support the bright light studies carried out internationally since the 1980s.

21 Nov 2013

Study finds patients with focal epilepsy have widespread, abnormal connections in their brains

Patients with the most common form of focal epilepsy have widespread, abnormal connections in their brains that could provide clues toward diagnosis and treatment, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

20 Nov 2013

Topokine initiates Phase 2 clinical trial of XAF5 Gel for double chin treatment

Topokine Therapeutics has initiated dosing in a Phase 2, randomized controlled clinical trial of XAF5 Gel for reduction of excess submental fat, commonly known as "double chin." XAF5 Gel is a proprietary skin formulation of a compound already known to reduce fat around the human eye. Study participants are applying XAF5 Gel or placebo once a night to skin under the chin.

20 Nov 2013

Intraoperative RLN monitoring prior to thyroid surgery improves surgical outcomes

Intraoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) monitoring has gained popularity with approximately 53 percent of general surgeons and 65 percent of otolaryngologists using intraoperative nerve monitoring in select or all cases.

19 Nov 2013

Mass. Eye and Ear's OGSH launches new collaboration to care for people ENT diseases

Rates of death and disability stemming from ear, nose and throat conditions continue to rise in developing countries like Uganda, but despite the need, fewer than 15 operating ear, nose and throat surgeons serve Uganda's 33.4 million and growing population. Only two ENT residency programs exist in this country, but many trainees do not remain in the country after graduation. Mass. Eye and Ear's Office of Global Surgery and Health is launching a new collaboration with Mbarara University Science and Technology School of Medicine and Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital to help address the need for more trained physicians to care for the ENT diseases and conditions of this population and to help encourage those who are ENT trained to stay in the country to care for those who need them.

16 Nov 2013

Peripheral prism glasses provide simple mobility rehabilitation intervention for hemianopia

More than a million Americans suffer from hemianopia, or blindness in one half of the visual field in both eyes as the result of strokes, tumors or trauma. People with hemianopia frequently bump into walls, trip over objects, or walk into people on the side where the visual field is missing.

12 Nov 2013

Parent's use of digital photography shown as effective tool in diagnosis of retinoblastoma

Can parents use digital cameras and smart phones to potentially screen their children for the most common form of pediatric eye cancer? Baylor University and Harvard Medical School researchers believe so.

7 Nov 2013

Sound Pharmaceuticals completes enrollment for SPI-1005 Phase 2 clinical trial

Sound Pharmaceuticals has successfully completed enrollment of its Phase 2 clinical trial with SPI-1005 at the University of Florida. This study enrolled 80 healthy subjects with normal or slight hearing loss and exposed the volunteer to calibrated music using an iPod and insert earphones.

5 Nov 2013

Ear News and Research

Researchers may have figured out ways to attack Meniere's disease

Study: Track-side noise may exceed 8,500% of person's daily recommended noise exposure

Diversity essential for brain's ability to localize sounds

Computer models of neuronal sound processing in brain lead to cochlear implant improvements

Medicaid expansion could exacerbate doctor shortage

First Edition: December 2, 2013

Miller Reese Hutchinson patents first portable electric hearing aid

Auditory processing disorder diagnosis: an interview with Dr Doris-Eva Bamiou, UCL Ear Institute

Director of Scheie Eye Institute honored with WIO's Suzanne Veronneau Troutman Award

Expert offers tips for families to avoid sensory processing disorders during holiday travels

Chicken eggs can provide better understanding of human birth defects

Genetic diagnostic test for inherited eye diseases now available from Mass. Eye and Ear

Study reveals benefits of bright light in treating anxiety

Study finds patients with focal epilepsy have widespread, abnormal connections in their brains

Topokine initiates Phase 2 clinical trial of XAF5 Gel for double chin treatment

Intraoperative RLN monitoring prior to thyroid surgery improves surgical outcomes

Mass. Eye and Ear's OGSH launches new collaboration to care for people ENT diseases

Peripheral prism glasses provide simple mobility rehabilitation intervention for hemianopia

Parent's use of digital photography shown as effective tool in diagnosis of retinoblastoma

Sound Pharmaceuticals completes enrollment for SPI-1005 Phase 2 clinical trial

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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