Hearing Loss News and Research

Latest Hearing Loss News and Research

New database for scientists researching fission yeast

A new database promises to be an invaluable resource to scientists who use a unique single-celled fungus to study human diseases.

29 Nov 2011

State roundup: Another Medi-Cal lawsuit; medical homes in Tenn.; Pa. moving forward on exchanges

Some California hospitals would take a significant and long-lasting hit from Medi-Cal reimbursement cuts recently approved by CMS, according to the California Hospital Association, which this week filed a petition in federal court to put a temporary halt to those reductions. CHA's lawsuit and injunction request are separate from the court action taken earlier this week by the California Medical Association and other provider organizations.

24 Nov 2011

Mutations that affect lysosomes play a role in causing persistent stuttering

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have obtained new evidence that at least some persistent stuttering is caused by mutations in a gene governing not speech, but a metabolic pathway involved in recycling old cell parts.

23 Nov 2011

Study reveals specific functional deficit in inner ear mechanotransduction channels

National Institutes of Health-funded researchers have identified two proteins that may be the key components of the long-sought after mechanotransduction channel in the inner ear-the place where the mechanical stimulation of sound waves is transformed into electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound.

22 Nov 2011

Gene-therapy trial to restore hearing in deaf mice

Researchers have found long-sought genes in the sensory hair cells of the inner ear that, when mutated, prevent sound waves from being converted to electric signals - a fundamental first step in hearing. The team, co-led by Jeffrey Holt, PhD, in the department of otolaryngology at Children-s Hospital Boston, and Andrew Griffith, MD, PhD, of the NIH-s National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), then restored these electrical signals in the sensory cells of deaf mice by introducing normal genes.

22 Nov 2011

Loyola surgeon first in the Chicago to implant Esteem hearing device

Lesa Merlo's hearing loss was so severe she had to read her children's lips when they talked to her. Then Dr. Sam Marzo of Loyola University Medical Center implanted a new hearing device in her middle ear. "I could hear their real laugh for the first time since they were babies," she said. "It was different, clear, pure and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined."

17 Nov 2011

UT Dallas students and faculty win three ASHA competitive awards

UT Dallas students and faculty have won three competitive awards from the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), which will present the prizes at its annual conference this week in San Diego.

17 Nov 2011

Hearing loss affects one in five Americans: Study

A new study has shown that one out of five Americans that are 12 years or older, suffer from hearing loss. This new research was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine and is led by Frank R. Lin, of Johns Hopkins University. The study was based on data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES) that has been gathered since 1971.

16 Nov 2011

Gallaudet University, UC Davis to co-sponsor Visual Learning Summit

How deaf children learn to read will be one of the topics of a conference at UC Davis Nov. 18-19. The Visual Learning Summit is co-sponsored by the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain, Gallaudet University's Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning, and the departments of psychology and linguistics at UC Davis.

16 Nov 2011

Nearly one-fifth of Americans have severe hearing loss

Nearly a fifth of all Americans 12 years or older have hearing loss so severe that it may make communication difficult, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the Nov. 14 Archives of Internal Medicine.

15 Nov 2011

Study reveals risk factors for temporomandibular disorders

Now, for the first time, researchers in the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine are publishing a comprehensive set of clinical characteristics that they say will lead to the ability to identify individuals at risk for developing the painful conditions. Their new clinical assessments will help researchers and clinicians better understand TMD and other pain conditions, so as to find ways to better manage and treat them.

11 Nov 2011

HMS, EPFL to collaborate on 6 pioneering neuroengineering projects

Two of the world's leading universities are joining forces to combine neuroscience and engineering in order to alleviate human suffering caused by such neurological disabilities as paralysis and deafness. Scientists, engineers, and clinicians at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Ecole Polytechnique F-d-rale de Lausanne (EPFL) will collaborate on six pioneering neuroengineering projects made possible thanks to a $3.6 million grant from the Bertarelli Foundation.

24 Oct 2011

NIH awards Einstein College of Medicine $5.7M for children's IDD Research Center

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University $5.7 million to fund the Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC).

18 Oct 2011

BHI warns consumers about inherent risks linked with hearing devices

The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is warning consumers of the inherent risks associated with purchasing over-the-counter, one-size-fits-all hearing aids instead of consulting a hearing healthcare professional.

14 Oct 2011

Brain smells what it expects rather than what it sniffs

In the moments before you "stop and smell the roses," it's likely your brain is already preparing your sensory system for that familiar floral smell. New research from Northwestern Medicine offers strong evidence that the brain uses predictive coding to generate "predictive templates" of specific smells -- setting up a mental expectation of a scent before it hits your nostrils.

7 Oct 2011

Researchers identify unusual genomic architecture linked with very severe forms of disease

When cells divide normally, DNA gets copied perfectly and distributed among the daughter cells with an even hand. Occasionally though, DNA breaks during division and is rearranged, resulting in duplications or deletions of important parts of the blueprint.

3 Oct 2011

Positive new data from Otonomy's OTO-104 Phase 1b study on Meniere's disease

Otonomy, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics for diseases and disorders of the inner and middle ear, today announced that researchers presented positive new data from a Phase 1b study of the company's lead product candidate, OTO-104, in patients with Meniere's disease.

29 Sep 2011

Fast-track genetic diagnosis for hearing loss

Over 28 million Americans are hearing impaired, and 50 percent of these cases can be traced to genetic causes. The condition can be especially challenging for children born hearing impaired because spoken language, reading, and cognitive development are tied to hearing. That makes early diagnosis essential for identifying appropriate therapy and treatment.

15 Sep 2011

Research identifies 6 critical deafness-related mutations in Israeli Jewish, Palestinian Arab families

Precise diagnosis of disease and developmental syndromes often depends on understanding the genetics underlying them. Most cases of early onset hearing loss are genetic in origin but there are many different forms. Heretofore, it has been difficult to identify the gene responsible for the hearing loss of each affected child, because the critical mutations differ among countries and populations.

14 Sep 2011

House Research Institute launches hearing loss awareness campaign

House Research Institute has launched a three month nationwide outreach campaign to support the institute's educational initiative It's How You Listen That Counts.

13 Sep 2011