Monthly Archives: September 2012

Hearing Brains Are 'Deaf' to Disappearance of Sounds, Study Reveals

Our brains are better at hearing new and approaching sounds than detecting when a sound disappears, according to a study published September 27 funded by the Wellcome Trust. The findings could explain why parents often fail to notice the su

dden quiet from the playroom that usually accompanies the onset of mischief.

Researchers at the UCL Ear Institute wanted to try and understand what makes certain sounds easily detectable while others go unnoticed. Learn more about the results of this study by following this link.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120927174751.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fhealth_medicine%2Fhearing_loss+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Health+&+Medicine+News+--+Hearing+Loss%29

Increasing Demand Calls For Increased Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Services

The demand in the hearing healthcare industry is rising, not in the field yet, perhaps considering a career change with more employment prospects? Or trying to decide on a major for a career with good job prosp

ects after graduation? Consider a career in relation to services for the deaf and hard of hearing.

According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, hearing loss is surpassed only by arthritis and heart disease as the most common physical condition. “And now is the time to provide education and eliminate barriers that keep these individuals from actively participating in life,” says Jo Black, Executive Director of the California organization, the Sacramento Independent Living Resource Center, Inc. (SILC). Discussed in this article are many of the needs of those who are deaf or hard of hearing, that in recognition of September as “Deaf Awareness month” and October as “Employment for Persons with Disabilities” month, aims to educate people about the issues/obstacles faced by the deaf or hard of hearing on a daily basis.

Link: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/09/25/4290586/increasing-demand-calls-for-increased.html

New Book Released: The Parenting Journey, Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

A board member of Hands & Voices, Karen Putz, has released a new book: The Parenting Journey, Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children. Karen Putz grew up hard of hearing and became deaf as a teen. When her own kids began losing their hearing one by one, she figured she had all the answers. She quickly learned it was a whole other ball game to be a parent of deaf and hard of hearing kids. Karen shares the twists and turns of her journey and the wisdom she’s learned along the way in this book, available at Amazon.com. 

Link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=karen+putz

Leptin may play a role in hearing and vision loss, zebrafish study suggests

Leptin — commonly dubbed the “fat hormone” — does more than tell the brain when to eat. A new study suggests that leptin may play a role in hearing and vision loss. This discovery, made in zebrafish treated to produce low leptin, could ultimately help doctors better understand sensory loss in humans. Follow this link to learn more about the study.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120926153034.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fhealth_medicine%2Fhearing_loss+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Health+%26+Medicine+News+--+Hearing+Loss%29

British Study Reveals That 8 out of 10 Are Unaware That Loud Music Can Damage Hearing

A British study reveals that eight out of ten have not considered that they can damage their hearing or get tinnitus from turning up their music. The charitable organization Action on Hearing Loss carried out a survey involving 1,000 Britons. Surprisingly, 80% of them did not know that it can damage your hearing to listen to loud music. What do your kids know?

Link: http://www.hear-it.org/Unawareness-Loud-music-can-damage-your-hearing

AG Bell 2012 Parent Infant Financial Aid Program: Accepting Applications Until October 1st!

AG Bell’s 2012 Parent-Infant Financial Aid Program is accepting
applications until October 1, 2012 – just less than two weeks away!
Information and an application packet are available on the AG Bell
website.

This program is for families of
children from birth to 3 years of age who have been diagnosed with a
moderate to profound bilateral hearing loss and who are in pursuit of
spoken language education for their child. Awards are intended to assist
with expenses for things such as auditory support services,
speech-language therapy, preschool tuition, etc.

Families who
apply should be committed to a listening and spoken language approach
for the education of their child’s listening, speech and cognitive
skills.

Link: http://www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org/Document.aspx?id=269

Sign language that African Americans use is different from that of whites

Carolyn McCaskill remembers exactly when she discovered that she
couldn’t understand white people. It was 1968, she was 15 years old, and
she and nine other deaf black students had just enrolled in an
integrated school for the deaf in Talledega, Alabama. The teacher’s quicksilver hand movements looked little like the sign
language McCaskill had grown up using at home with her two deaf siblings
and had practiced at the Alabama School for the Negro Deaf and Blind,
just a few miles away.

What intrigues McCaskill and other experts in deaf culture today is the
degree to which distinct signing systems — one for whites and another
for blacks — evolved and continue to coexist today. This article discusses some of the differences in sign language as used in the U.S. based on race.

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sign-language-that-african-americans-use-is-different-from-that-of-whites/2012/09/17/2e897628-bbe2-11e1-8867-ecf6cb7935ef_story.html

Assistive Technology and Communication and Literacy Development of Young Children with Disabilities

The Center for
Early Literacy Learning (CELL) has published this new meta-analysis,
which included 36 studies of 687 children
with disabilities or delays. The study focused on effectiveness of
different types of assistive technology (AT) for promoting the early
communication and literacy abilities of young children 30 to 87 months
of age. The children used different types of speech
generative devices (e.g., VOCA, CheapTalk, MINISPEAK) and various types
of computer software and devices (e.g., computer-based instruction,
adapted keyboards). Results showed that both types of AT promoted the
children’s communication and literacy-related
behavior.

Link: http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/cellreviews/cellreviews_v5_n7.pdf