An award-winning physician and professor has launched MDHearingAid(R),
www.MDHearingAid.com ,
a company that provides affordable, high-quality hearing aids for people
with mild to moderately-severe hearing loss. As an attending physician in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat Surgery)
in Munster, IN., Sreekant Cherukuri, MD, says he saw too many patients
with hearing loss going home without a solution. After evaluating
several hearing devices and sound amplifiers in the under-$200 range, he
found that most failed to work well on amplifying the human voice
clearly. Hearing loss affects approximately 36-million Americans. Untreated, it
can lead to depression, anxiety, paranoia and isolation, according to
The National Council on Aging. Yet, 28-million Americans who need
hearing assistance do not wear hearing aids. Half say cost is an
obstacle.

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/physicianprofessor-launches-mdhearingaidr-to-provide-low-cost-hearing-aids-to-americans-who-need-to-hear-clearly-2011-11-10

The Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program will be hosting their 18th Annual Seminar on Monday, May 21, 2012 from 8:00am-4:30pm at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Crossings (801 Greenwich Ave., Warwick, RI 02886). The event entitled “Creating Positive Environments for Children with Hearing Loss” will cover such topics as: Programs that provide support for families or interventions for children birth to 3, 3-5, or early school age; research focusing on assessment or management of infants or children with hearing loss; and quality improvement initiatives. Students and professionals are now being invited to submit abstracts for poster presentations. Please follow the link to read more and be sure to submit abstracts if interested by February 3, 2012.

Link: http://www.infanthearing.org/ncham_news/docs/ri_hearing_assessment_program.pdf

November Issue of AAP’s EHDI E-Mail Express is now
available and includes some great information on subjects such as:

     -A
new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the
November 14 Archives of Internal Medicine  finds that nearly a fifth of
all Americans 12 years or older have hearing loss so severe that it may
make communication difficult.
     -Book/resources for parents of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing
     -Useful resources for families provided by Hands & Voices

and more!!  Check it
out to find current news and information from the American Academy of
Pediatrics!

Link: http://www.infanthearing.org/ncham_news/docs/EHDI_Email_Express_November2011.pdf

This
report, from Child Trends and the Office of Planning Research and
Evaluation (OPRE) at the Administration Children and Families, reviews
high quality family-provider practices
across health, education, and social work fields in order to identify
common practices in positive family-provider relationships.

Link: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/cc/childcare_technical/reports/family_provider_multi.pdf

On
November 16, 2011 the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special
Education Programs (OSEP) held a training session on the new regulations
for implementing Part C of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Materials from
the session are now available online.

Link: http://osep-part-c.tadnet.org/materials

A new report from the Easter Seals gives a sense for how well each state
takes care of its youngest children with disabilities and delays. It
shows that infants and toddlers
in nearly every state continue to fall behind, many will never catch
up; yet, with the right investment in treatment and therapy before the
age of five, states can change the state of early intervention for
millions of families across the country. See the
read more link for the full report as well as individual state profiles.

Link: http://www.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ntlc10_mffc_state_profiles_download