Studies conducted in developed countries have shown that hearing loss is
the most common birth defect with an incidence rate of 3 for every
1,000 babies born every year. A newborn cannot communicate with
the parent, making it difficult for the doctor or parent to identify the
defect early on. Babies who do not hear your voice, a lullaby or a
nursery rhyme may have problems learning to talk. It is
important to have your baby’s hearing tested before you leave the
hospital after delivering the child. Hearing problems need to be
identified as early as possible so that you may take the necessary
actions that give your baby the best chance to develop speech and
language.

Link: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/218999/early-detection-key.html

Hundreds of children are being recalled for medical hearing tests at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital. The hospital said it had become aware that a child assessed by a doctor as normal was later found to have profound hearing loss. An investigation found nine patients assessed by the same doctor were misdiagnosed.

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16632234

The University of Utah Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders will be presenting the 22nd Audiology Conference by the Mayo Clinic Webcast on Saturday, February 18, 2012 from 8:00 am – 2:30 pm. This presentation is focused toward audiologists and students in doctoral audiology programs. CEU credits will be available for non-students. Please follow the link for additional information, including registration and a list of presenters. The link will also provide you with a downloadable registration form, and a U of U campus map to the Marriott Library Gould Auditorium.

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

A report published Online First by the Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery
shows evidence to suggest that children receiving cochlear implants in
separate, sequential surgeries, see overall improvements in their
quality of life. The study, led by Marloes Sparreboom, M.A., Radboud University Nijmegen
Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, stresses the importance of
collecting information concerning the quality of life of children
receiving cochlear implantations, given the lack of previous research on
the matter. Countless other studies solely look at speech perception
and sound localization, with clinical settings that do not accurately
represent a typical everyday environment.

Link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240361.php

Audism Free America (AFA), a grassroots Deaf activist network, condemns
the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its approval of
a study which will use cord blood stem cells on infants as young as six
weeks old in an effort to eradicate the Deaf population of the United
States.

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/16/prweb9108761.DTL#ixzz1jjjmkWgG

With early screening and diagnosis, cochlear implants for
profoundly deaf children, better hearing aids and more effective teaching
methods, children with hearing loss are having unprecedented success in general
education settings.

To meet the needs of its fast-growing deaf and
hard-of-hearing populations, however, California needs more specialized
teachers. And this school year, the CLU Graduate School of Education’s efforts to
remedy the shortage received a major boost year in the form of a $1.2 million
Education Department grant.

Link: http://www.callutheran.edu/news/news_detail.php?story_id=8247

Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and Cord Blood Registry® (CBR) are
launching the first FDA-approved, Phase I safety study on the use of
cord blood stem cells to treat children with sensorineural hearing loss.

The study, which will use patients’ stem cells from their own stored
umbilical cord blood, is the first of its kind, and has the potential to
restore hearing. This follows evidence from published laboratory
studies that cord blood helps repair damaged organs in the inner ear.

The year-long study will follow 10 children, ages 6 weeks to 18 months, who have sustained post-birth hearing loss.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please visit: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53686-cord-blood-childrens-memorial-hermann-fda-approved-stem-cells-hearing-loss

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/first-fda-approved-study-of-stem-cells-to-treat-hearing-loss-begins-at-childrens-memorial-hermann-hospital-2012-01-12

On a recent visit to Haiti, members of a private American foundation
(The Starkey Hearing Foundation) outfitted 400 Haitians with hearing aids. Some had lost their hearing
aids in the rubble of the 2010 earthquake and hadn’t been able to hear
for nearly two years. Others, had not been able to hear since birth. 

Link: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/americas/US-Company-Brings-Hearing-Aids-to-Haiti-136958008.html

Canadian researchers
have found that over the last 20 years, three percent of deaf children
who got cochlear implants at their hospital needed new ones because of
technical problems. Almost all of the kids who needed a new device
implanted maintained or improved their hearing and speaking abilities
after the second procedure. Complications of the implant procedures are rare, but include infections and damage to the devices. The
implants and related surgeries are usually covered by insurance. More than 200,000 people have received cochlear
implants, including about 70,000 in the United States. According to the
Food and Drug Administration, they have been approved for commercial use
in the U.S. since the mid-1980s. 

Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/21/us-problems-cochlear-rare-idUSTRE7BK20320111221

A study carried out by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine have found that mice lacking the FGF20 protein were deaf from birth. This was
because the area of the inner ear containing a type of hair cell had
not developed normally, as it became stuck in an earlier developmental
stage. This suggests FGF20 is essential for the normal development of
these important cells that are necessary for hearing. The findings may provide a new target for researchers aiming for a
better understanding of deafness due to hair cell defects in humans.

Link: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/01January/Pages/fgf20-gene-cochlear-deteriation-deafness.aspx