Swedish researchers have found that antioxidants can prevent against hearing loss if one has been exposed to loud noises. In the search for methods to protect one’s hearing after noise exposure, Swedish researchers found that antioxidant acetylcysteine has a protective effect on noise-related hearing loss.

Link: http://www.hear-it.org/Protect-your-hearing-with-antioxidants

Music is so present in many of our lives, it’s easy to take for granted. For a group of Twin Cities youngsters, it’s not that simple. Students from Northern Voices, a school for children with hearing loss, got a chance to experience music Friday on one of Minnesota’s biggest stages, Orchestra Hall. Watch the news story on video of the fun experience these children had; the program the students attended was put on by the Minnesota Orchestra’s Volunteer Association.

Link: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/02/10/students-with-hearing-loss-experience-minnesota-orchestra/

Researchers have been given the go-ahead to test stem cells from cord
blood with the ultimate goal of reversing hearing loss in infants and
toddlers whose inner ears have been damaged. U.S. regulators have approved the Phase I study, which has a primary
objective of determining the safety of the experimental stem cell
therapy. The therapy involves transfusing a baby’s own stem cells from
umbilical cord blood, banked by parents after their child’s birth. Ten
children aged six weeks to 18 months old with sensorineural hearing loss
will be recruited for the study by doctors at Children’s Memorial
Hermann Hospital in Houston.

Link: http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120210/stem-cells-cord-blood-hearing-loss-kids-120210/20120210/?hub=EdmontonHome

When Issy Cairns was just four weeks old, her parents were told she was profoundly deaf. Cricket legend Chris Cairns and his wife were devastated but determined to do what they could for their daughter. This is a story of how cochlear implants have changed one little girl’s life. Watch the video.

Link: http://www.3news.co.nz/How-cochlear-implant-funding-can-change-a-life/tabid/817/articleID/242456/Default.aspx

The scholarship is open to all high school seniors, nationally, who
presently wear hearing aids or will benefit from one. Students will
write an essay centered on the experiences and challenges they face
in all phases of life as a person with a hearing impairment. The
winning student will receive $500.00 towards the college of their
choice and two state of the art Resound hearing aids. The hearing
aids are being donated by Resound, a manufacturer of high quality
digital hearing aids.

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/foundation-for-sight-sound-launches-help-america-hear-scholarship-2012-02-10

Hearing loss has become the 3rd most common health problem in the US. 79% have difficulty hearing or know somebody who has. 36 million Americans suffer from some kind of hearing loss, with only a
quarter of these people recognizing that they have a problem and seeking
treatment.

Link: http://www.hear-it.org/Hearing-loss-is-the-3rd-most-common-health-problem-in-the-US

The
Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has
updated its Medicaid Benefits Online Database to include 2010
state-level data about which benefits are covered by Medicaid
programs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and United States
territories. The online tool contains Medicaid benefits data for adults
covered under fee-for-service, with information about benefits covered,
limits, co-payments and reimbursement methodologies.

Link: http://medicaidbenefits.kff.org/index.jsp

The
Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE)
has developed a Dispute Resolution Resource Showcase – a collection and
systematic organization of resources relating
to the IDEA’s dispute resolution procedural safeguards provisions (Part
C and Part B) that may be useful to states and districts as they pursue
improvements in their special education dispute resolution systems and
processes.

Link: http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/exemplar/matrix.cfm

Many types of hearing aids exist. So which is best for you? Find out what the Mayo Clinic suggests for consideration when choosing a hearing aid.

Link: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hearing-aids/HQ00812

A European team of researchers has discovered that people with a
specific form of inherited hearing loss are more sensitive to low
frequency vibration. Presented in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the
findings provide insight on the association between hearing loss and
touch sensitivity. Specialised skin cells must be tuned to enable a
person to ‘feel’.

A mutation affecting the function of many hair cells in the inner ear is responsible for this hearing impairment.

Link: http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=34272