Hearing News and Research

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Subtle effects of hearing loss on memory and cognitive function in older adults

In a new study, Brandeis University researchers conclude that older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss may expend so much cognitive energy on hearing accurately that their ability to remember spoken language suffers as a result.

29 Aug 2005

Immigrant children still mastering the English language risk being shuffled into special education services they don't need

The study showed that the expressive language characteristics of typically developing children learning English as a second language are similar to the English spoken by monolingual children who have specific language impairment.

24 Aug 2005

No intervention is necessary for most children with fluid in their ears

A Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh study finds that prompt insertion of tympanostomy tubes (small ear tubes) does not improve developmental outcomes of children at 6 years of age as once thought.

24 Aug 2005

Scientists step closer to understanding the genetic pathway involved in the development of hearing

New research findings, published online in the journal Nature Genetics, detail how sensory hair cells in the ear - the cells largely responsible for hearing - develop unique shapes that enable the perception of sound.

22 Aug 2005

Nearly one-third of former brain tumor patients require special education services

Children who survive brain cancer struggle for years with the malevolent echo of the disease and its treatment, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

22 Aug 2005

Latest scare in Hong Kong - cancer-causing chemical in eel meat

Health officials in Hong Kong say they have found a suspected cancer-causing chemical in some eels.

21 Aug 2005

New hope for those deaf from immune system attack

A new study may one day help those deafened by immune system attack, and possibly also lead to a test that could show which patients may be helped by immediate steroid treatment.

16 Aug 2005

There are subtle effects of hearing loss on memory and cognitive function in older adults

13 Aug 2005

Study queries value of ear tube surgery for childrens' speech and language development

After conducting a study of nearly 400 children in 2001, researchers at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, have come to the conclusion, that putting tubes in the eardrum to help drain a young child's middle ear infection does not guard against developmental problems later in life.

11 Aug 2005

Factors inhibiting the brain's natural self-healing process identified

Factors that inhibit the brain's natural self-healing process and that may offer new insights into how to prevent brain damage in premature babies have been identified by a team of researchers supported in part by the March of Dimes.

7 Aug 2005

The wonders of watermelon

On a hot summer day, nothing refreshes quite like a crisp, juicy slice of cool watermelon. Whether you're chomping into watermelon, enjoying it as part of a fruit salad or slurping on a watermelon smoothie, that red pulp provides a powerhouse of nutritional value.

2 Aug 2005

Unemployment has become a serious threat to junior doctors

Intense competition for posts has left many junior doctors (whose training costs around £237,000 each) without jobs to go to when their contracts end next Tuesday. Many are now considering leaving the country, abandoning the profession, or claiming unemployment benefit.

27 Jul 2005

British scientist who discovered link with smoking and cancer, dies at 92

The British scientist Sir Richard Doll, who was the first scientist to expose the link between smoking and lung cancer, has died in hospital, after a short illness; he was 92.

25 Jul 2005

Hearing protein TRPA1 also involved with pain perception

The same protein that “translates” sound into nerve signals to the brain and enables individuals to hear is also required for pain perception, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have found.

21 Jul 2005

New research leads to better infant hearing aids

The University of Western Sydney's MARCS Auditory Laboratories is leading the way with groundbreaking research, exploring the auditory abilities of infants, so hearing aids can correctly amplify the frequencies that babies need to develop communication and language skills.

21 Jul 2005

Floating their idea - students conduct experiments in zero gravity

Students from Imperial College London join teams from across Europe this month to test experiments while floating in zero gravity.

20 Jul 2005

New molecular insights may one day lead to opportunities to stave off old age

Delving deep into the molecular subtleties of a strain of mice engineered to age rapidly, scientists have found that an accumulation of genetic mutations prompts a cascade of programmed cell death that seems to underpin the aging process.

18 Jul 2005

Extraordinary number of genes are required for prenatal mammalian development

A team of scientists led by Cornell University's Dr. John Schimenti reports today that an extraordinary number of genes are required for prenatal mammalian development. The researchers estimate that up to 19% of all genes are vital for embryogenesis in mice.

17 Jul 2005

Expert says newborn health screening inconsistent throughout the U.S.

According to the March of Dimes, although every state requires newborn babies to receive health checks, requirements vary widely among the individual states.

13 Jul 2005

Every baby born in the United States should receive screening for a uniform panel of 29 disorders

Expanded newborn screening is now required by law in dozens of states, but most infants still are not covered by the full panel of 29 tests recommended by experts, according to the March of Dimes 2005 state-by-state report card on newborn screening.

12 Jul 2005