Deafness News and Research

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New study reveals why some vestibular schwannomas cause hearing loss

A new study at Massachusetts Eye and Ear showed that in some cases of vestibular schwannoma, a sometimes-lethal tumor often associated with neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2), secretions from the tumor contain toxic molecules that damage the inner ear.

23 Dec 2015

Study on myosins may lead to therapies for muscle diseases, cancers

Understanding how tiny molecular motors called myosins use energy to fuel biological tasks like contracting muscles could lead to therapies for muscle diseases and cancers, says a team of researchers led by Penn State College of Medicine scientists.

22 Dec 2015

Study may help reduce sugar consumption, improve nutritional health of children

Everyone knows that children love sweets, but ever wonder why some kids seem to want more sugary food than others? It could be because they need more sugar to get that same sweet taste. According to new research from the Monell Center, sensitivity to sweet taste varies widely across school-aged children and is in part genetically-determined.

15 Dec 2015

Sound deprivation causes irreversible damage to the inner ear

Massachusetts Eye and Ear investigators have shown that sound deprivation in adult mice causes irreversible damage to the inner ear. The findings, published in PLOS ONE, suggest that chronic conductive hearing loss, such as that caused by recurrent ear infections, leads to permanent hearing impairment if it remains untreated.

19 Nov 2015

Genetic reduction of AMPK enzyme can prevent or delay hearing loss

A mitochondrial defect is responsible for a type of human hereditary deafness that worsens over time and can lead to profound hearing loss.

6 Nov 2015

First primate model can help researchers to study mother-to-fetus CMV infections

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the leading infectious cause of birth defects worldwide, but scientists have been frustrated in their efforts to develop a vaccine to protect against infections.

20 Oct 2015

Study identifies proteins that could help in treating deafness

Almost 40 million Americans suffer from hearing loss. Right now, there is no way to reverse this condition, largely because auditory hair cells, which sense sound and relay that information to the brain, do not regenerate.

16 Oct 2015

Scientists use new technology to create gene expression map of inner ear cell development

Using a sensitive new technology called single-cell RNA-seq on cells from mice, scientists have created the first high-resolution gene expression map of the newborn mouse inner ear.

16 Oct 2015

FDA allows marketing of new EarLens Contact Hearing Device

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of a new hearing aid that uses a laser diode and direct vibration of the eardrum to amplify sound. The combination of laser light pulses and a custom-fit device component that comes in direct contact with the eardrum is designed to use the patient's own eardrum as a speaker and enables amplification over a wider range of frequencies for some hearing impaired persons.

9 Oct 2015

Location-dependent pattern in cilia length in mouse nasal cavity affects sensitivity to odors

Like the hairs they resemble, cilia come in all lengths, from short to long. But unlike the hair on our heads, the length of sensory cilia on nerve cells in our noses is of far more than merely cosmetic significance. A team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found a location-dependent pattern in cilia length in the mouse nasal cavity that affects sensitivity to odors.

14 Sep 2015

Central visual field loss may delay driver's ability to detect pedestrians in timely manner

Vision researchers in Boston have published the second paper of a study designed to determine if a driver who suffers from loss of central vision is able to detect pedestrians in a timely manner when driving.

3 Sep 2015

Volatile anesthetics may combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung

In use for more than a century, inhaled anesthetics like nitrous oxide and halothane have made modern surgery possible. Now, in experiments in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have added to evidence that certain so-called "volatile" anesthetics -- commonly used during surgeries -- may also possess powerful effects on the immune system that can combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung, including influenza and pneumonia.

2 Sep 2015

Brief exposure to sudden sounds or mild trauma can form long-term memories

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have found how even brief exposure to sudden sounds or mild trauma can form permanent, long-term brain connections, or memories, in a specific region of the brain. Moreover, the research team, working with rats, says it was able to chemically stimulate those biological pathways in the locus coeruleus -- the area of the brain best known for releasing the "fight or flight" hormone noradrenaline -- to heighten and improve the animals' hearing.

25 Aug 2015

PHIV children may lack immunity against measles, mumps, and rubella despite vaccination

Between one-third and one-half of individuals in the United States who were infected with HIV around the time of birth may not have sufficient immunity to ward off measles, mumps, and rubella--even though they may have been vaccinated against these diseases.

14 Aug 2015

Array Biopharma reports strong fourth quarter and full year 2015 financial results

Array BioPharma Inc. today reported results for the fourth quarter and full year of its fiscal year ended June 30, 2015.

3 Aug 2015

Researchers reconstruct ancient virus to improve gene therapy

Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Schepens Eye Research Institute have reconstructed an ancient virus that is highly effective at delivering gene therapies to the liver, muscle, and retina. This discovery, published July 30 in Cell Reports, could potentially be used to design gene therapies that are not only safer and more potent than therapies currently available, but may also help a greater number of patients.

31 Jul 2015

Facial motion capture technology can help identify different speech disorders in children

Facial motion capture - the same technology used to develop realistic computer graphics in video games and movies - has been used to identify differences between children with childhood apraxia of speech and those with other types of speech disorders, finds a new study by NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

29 Jul 2015

People with common form of hearing loss may benefit from hybrid cochlear implant devices

People with a common form of hearing loss not helped by hearing aids achieved significant and sometimes profound improvements in their hearing and understanding of speech with hybrid cochlear implant devices, according to a new multicenter study led by specialists at NYU Langone Medical Center.

29 Jul 2015

New study to explore mechanisms responsible for taste changes following RYGB, diet-induced obesity

Currently, one of the most effective surgical methods for treating obesity is the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, which limits the amount of food and drink that can be ingested at one time and the amount of calories and nutrients absorbed through the intestinal tract. An unintended side effect of RYGB is that it reduces the patient's taste for sweet and fatty foods—but there is no scientific explanation for why these taste changes occur.

28 Jul 2015

Genes affect person's perception of sweet taste

A new study from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions suggests that a single set of genes affects a person's perception of sweet taste, regardless of whether the sweetener is a natural sugar or a non-caloric sugar substitute.

17 Jul 2015