Hearing Loss News and Research

Latest Hearing Loss News and Research

New hope for people with sound-induced deafness

Preliminary results from a study in mice suggest it may be possible to regenerate cochlear hair cells that have been damaged due to excessive noise exposure.

15 Jan 2013

Bionic devices: an interview with Dr Rylie Green

Bionic devices are implants which replace biological functions which have been lost due to nerve damage. They use electrical signals to stimulate the remaining nerve cells following disease or injury. Although the term bionic was only coined in the late 1950s, the earliest bionic devices were cardiac pacemakers, developed in the early 1900s. However the first commercial implantable units were not available until the 1950s.

14 Jan 2013

SLU researchers to test new screening method for MPS disorders among infants

Researchers at Saint Louis University have received a five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to test a new method of screening newborns for a group of rare, but serious genetic disorders that affect approximately 200 babies born in the U.S., each year.

11 Jan 2013

Fatal imbalance between global disease burden and drug development

Despite important progress in research and development (R&D) for global health over the past decade, only a small fraction of new medicines developed between 2000 and 2011 were for the treatment of neglected diseases, highlighting the 'fatal imbalance' between global disease burden and drug development for some of the world most devastating illnesses, said Doctors Without Borders/M-decins Sans Fronti-res (MSF) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), in an analysis to be presented today at an international conference aimed at spurring medical innovations for these diseases.

13 Dec 2012

Parents prefer hearing screenings for kids

Just yelling "turn it down" isn't enough when young people are blasting music directly into their ears via earbuds and headphones, parents say. A new poll from the University of Michigan shows parents are strongly in favor of required hearing screenings for kids all the way up to age 17.

10 Dec 2012

Nuron Biotech announces acquisition of Meningitec from Pfizer

Nuron Biotech Inc., a specialty biologics and vaccines company, today announced it has acquired from Pfizer Inc. Meningitec, which is a vaccine for the prevention of invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C.

10 Dec 2012

University of Florida initiates enrollment in SPI-1005 Phase II trial for sensorineural hearing loss

The University of Florida (UF) has started enrolling subjects in a new study testing the oral drug developed by Sound Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SPI-1005) to prevent hearing loss caused by loud music. Loud music or noise can induce temporary and permanent auditory threshold shifts (TTS or PTS).

6 Dec 2012

Primitive human stem cells resistant to human cytomegalovirus

A new study published online in PLOS ONE reveals that primitive human stem cells are resistant to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), one of the leading prenatal causes of congenital intellectual disability, deafness and deformities worldwide.

30 Nov 2012

Hearing impairment risk high with diabetes

People with diabetes are at high risk for developing a hearing impairment, report researchers.

16 Nov 2012

Hearing impairment risk high with diabetes

People with diabetes are at high risk for developing a hearing impairment, report researchers.

15 Nov 2012

Oscillation in brain activity influences listening process

Naturally, our brain activity waxes and wanes. When listening, this oscillation synchronizes to the sounds we are hearing. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences have found that this influences the way we listen. Hearing abilities also oscillate and depend on the exact timing of one's brain rhythms. This discovery that sound, brain, and behaviour are so intimately coupled will help us to learn more about listening abilities in hearing loss.

15 Nov 2012

New CAM2 method could improve sound perception for users of hearing aids

A new software product developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge could greatly improve sound perception for users of hearing aids.

9 Nov 2012

New understanding of how noise can break critical tip link protein structure in inner ear cells

Researchers have mapped the precise 3-D atomic structure of a thin protein filament critical for cells in the inner ear and calculated the force necessary to pull it apart.

8 Nov 2012

Genetic testing valuable in determining etiology for childhood hearing loss

Genetic testing for a certain mutation in pediatric patients is valuable in determining a cause for unexplained hearing loss, according to a study in the November 2012 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

6 Nov 2012

Sunrise Senior Living offers short-term stays for older adults in storm-stricken areas

While millions of families struggle with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Sunrise Senior Living is offering emergency, short-term stays for older adults and their pets in storm-stricken areas.

3 Nov 2012

Poor fitting and inadequate support leading to ineffective use of hearing aids

Twenty per cent of hearing aid users in Norway use the equipment for only an hour each day. The reason is often poor fitting and inadequate support. Now all this could change.

30 Oct 2012

Columbia Asia Hospitals conducts successful cochlear implants and BAHA surgery

Loss of hearing may not be a life threatening condition but it can certainly affect the quality of life and hamper a child’s normal growth. Deafness identified early helps address the challenges involved in the normal development of the child, including speech, which usually gets affected. Columbia Asia Hospitals across India has been conducting Cochlear implants and BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) very successfully.

30 Oct 2012

Researchers discover genetic biomarker for age-related hearing loss

University of South Florida researchers have identified a genetic biomarker for age-related hearing loss, a major breakthrough in understanding and preventing a condition of aging that affects 30 million Americans and greatly diminishes their quality of life.

26 Oct 2012

Towards the most effective approach for spotting hearing problems in young children

Should every primary school pupil in the UK be given a hearing test and what's the most effective way of doing it? These are questions that a team of academics from Nottingham and Exeter will be tackling as part of a new study.

8 Oct 2012

Stereocilia not only move sideways but also change in length: Study

The sensory cells of the inner ear have tiny hairs called stereocilia that play a critical part in hearing. It has long been known that these stereocilia move sideways back and forth in a wave-like motion when stimulated by a sound wave. After having designed a microscope to observe these movements, a research team at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has discovered that the hairs not only move sideways but also change in length.

4 Oct 2012