Animal studies on hearing loss might benefit humans

Roughly 36 million Americans are hearing-impaired or deaf. Researchers at Purdue University reported their findings from a study in animals that found almost no difference in quiet settings between the sound processing ability of chinchill

as with or without damage in the cochlea — the part of the inner ear that transforms sound into electrical messages to the brain.

But when they listened to the same tones in noisy settings, there were distinct differences in the way sound pulses were coded into the brain through different channels for various frequencies. In effect, the noisy setting threw off the ability of neurons in the cochlea to synchronize with the sound receiving channels in the brain, leaving the sounds more scattered and fuzzy because a limited number of healthy neurons are trying to focus on too many sound sources. Find out more about the results of this research and the possible implications.

Link: http://www.reporternews.com/news/2012/nov/20/animal-studies-on-hearing-loss-might-benefit/

Western Adventures in Audiology: LEND Pediatric Audiology Training Program Webinar Series No.2

A webinar hosted by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities: “Western Adventures in Audiology: LEND Pediatric Audiology Training Program Webinar Series #2” will be held on Thursday, December 13, 2012 from 12:00 – 1:30 pm EST. This webinar will include feature presentations from trainees within two LEND pediatric audiology programs.

Funded through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), the MCHB/AUCD LEND Pediatric Audiology Training Program supports 10 LEND programs to increase the didactic content and clinical experience of trainees in pediatric audiology. This webinar series has been organized to enable LEND trainees to present their perspective on pediatric audiology and the interdisciplinary LEND experience. Be sure not to miss out on this webinar! For more information and to register, please follow this link.

Link: http://www.aucd.org/template/event.cfm?event_id=3553&id=379&parent=379

DSCSHN of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau Webinar Series Tomorrow

The Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau will have it’s monthly Webinar Series held on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 – 3:00 pm Eastern Time.

The Division of Services for Children with Special Health Need

s (DSCSHN) of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) has started a monthly webinar series of the Division’s National Centers. This series was started by the Division to promote the work of the National Centers to MCHB’s grantees. These Centers provide resources for comprehensive, community-based, family-centered, culturally competent, coordinated systems of care for children and youth with special health needs and their families Baby’s First Test will be the next National Center to present. Baby’s First Test is the nation’s educational resource center for newborn screening. This webinar is relevant to supporting partnerships among EHDI programs and other national centers involved in building coordinated service systems.

Link: https://hrsa.connectsolutions.com/dscshnmonthly/

NTID Receives Donation to Study Hearing Loss and Learning

The Center for Education Research Partnerships at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf has received a $2.3-million research grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

The four-year project, “Language, Learning, and Cognition among Deaf Students with and without Cochlear Implants,” is aimed at understanding the complex interactions among language, learning and cognitive abilities of deaf students with cochlear implants. The grant will support eight studies that include measures of academic achievement, social-emotional functioning, cognitive abilities, English skills and deaf students’ language and cochlear implant histories.

The results will help to better focus services for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, making them more efficient and effective, while enhancing educational and employment opportunities as well as physical and emotional health.

Link: http://www.healthyhearing.com/content/news/Research/Hearing-loss/50830-Ntid-receives-donation-to-study-hearing-loss-and-learning

Too few hearing screenings of infants in rural China

A study aims to provide guidance in the implementation of hearing screening in the rural areas of China. 11,568 babies born in five counties of Hubei Province of China were screened with transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). Infa

nts tested after the second-stage screening, were tested by diagnostic auditory brainstem response (ABR). 

This large-scale newborn-hearing screening in rural areas of Hubei demonstrated that the screening rate and referral rate for high-risk infants is low in rural areas in China. The researchers suggest that urgent measures should be taken by the government to promote newborn hearing screening in the rural areas.

Link: http://www.hear-it.org/Too-few-hearing-screenings-of-infants-in-rural-China

Brain waves make waves

Naturally, our brain activity waxes and wanes. When listening, this oscillation synchronizes to the sounds we are hearing. Researchers have found that this influences the way we listen. Hearing abilities also oscillate and depend on the exa

ct timing of one’s brain rhythms. Researchers claim that this discovery of sound, brain, and behavior being intimately coupled could help in learning more about listening abilities in hearing loss.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121114113320.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fhealth_medicine%2Fhearing_loss+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Health+&+Medicine+News+--+Hearing+Loss%29

Software improves quality of sound for hearing aid users

New software could greatly improve sound perception for users of hearing aids. The software prescribes the amount of amplification of high-frequency sounds required to restore the audibility of such sounds. This increases the frequency range of sound that individuals with hearing loss are able to detect, improving speech perception, sound localisation and the ability to hear certain musical sounds, when compared with current methods.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121108131617.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