Blogs

New Protein Discovery Helps Researchers Better Understand Hearing Loss

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 02-23-2021
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Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have conducted a study that has determined the role that a critical protein plays in the development of hair cells. These hair cells are vital for hearing. Some of these cells amplify sounds that come into the ear, and others transform sound waves into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Ronna Hertzano, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at UMSOM and Maggie Matern, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, demonstrated that the protein, called GFI1, may be critical for determining whether an embryonic hair cell matures ...
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Tips To Communicate When Wearing A Mask

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 02-16-2021
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Wearing masks is making it harder on people who have difficulty hearing. A recent survey by the Hearing Loss Association of America found that 95% of respondents with hearing loss say masks and facial coverings have created communication barriers since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Masks make it harder to communicate in multiple ways. It muffles sound, making it difficult to understand speech and some higher-pitched voices. Masks also take away a person’s ability to read lips and see facial expressions, both of which help people better understand what is being communicated. This is true for everyone, but especially for those with hearing loss. As government ...
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Does Tinnitus Cause Cognitive Issues?

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 02-09-2021
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Tinnitus, one of the world's most common hearing conditions, is known to impact a person's hearing and well-being, but can it also affect a person's cognitive performance? Many people with tinnitus think it can, based on various reports of concentration problems due to tinnitus. 1 Researchers may think it can too, with published studies that found poorer cognitive performance in people with tinnitus than in those without tinnitus. 2,3 Explanations for how tinnitus could affect cognition include cognitive load hypotheses where the increased effort of hearing and trying to suppress the tinnitus leaves fewer cognitive resources to complete a task at hand. ...
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Chemotherapy Drug Leads To Potential Hearing Loss Breakthrough

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 02-02-2021
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Researchers at the Creighton University School of Medicine have identified a drug that can protect against hearing loss in mice, and they think it can work in humans, too. The best part: It’s a drug already on the market. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, 1 are a potential breakthrough for the approximately 466 million people worldwide with disabling hearing loss.2 They focus on the use of a chemotherapy drug called Tafinlar (dabrafenib). “We’re very excited about our initial results so far,” lead study author Matthew Ingersoll, PhD, a Creighton postdoctoral fellow, tells Verywell. “Obviously, these are in mice. However, since dabrafenib ...
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Research Links High Blood Sugar And Hearing Loss To Poor Memory In Older Latino Americans

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 01-26-2021
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Hearing loss and diabetes are major public health problems, with Latinos at higher risk than other demographic groups. In a new study published December 17, 2020 in the online issue of JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery , researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine with colleagues elsewhere, report that hearing loss and high blood sugar are associated with poor cognitive performance among middle-aged and older Latinos. Diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias. More recently, hearing loss has also been linked to increased risk for AD. However, few studies have investigated the combined relationships ...
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Study Investigates Treatment For Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 01-19-2021
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The purpose of this case study is to support best practices in treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), particularly the importance of immediate audiological evaluation and treatment of suspected SSNH to ensure an optimal outcome. SSNHL is most commonly defined as a hearing loss of 30 dB or greater at three consecutive frequencies that occur within 72 hours. 1 SSNHL can develop at any age, but it most commonly occurs in patients aged 65 and older. 2 In the United States, 2 it is estimated to affect 27 in every 100,000 people. Those with this condition often discover their hearing loss upon waking up in the morning, after hearing a loud popping ...
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Purifying Common Antibiotic Could Reduce Hearing Loss Risk

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 01-12-2021
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Scientists have discovered a simple method of reformulating gentamicin, a commonly used and highly effective antibiotic, that could reduce the risk it poses of causing deafness. A Stanford Medicine-led study has found that a subtype of popular antibiotic could pose a smaller risk of hearing loss yet still be powerful at fighting off bacterial infections. Gentamicin is used in U.S. hospitals to treat a variety of bacterial infections, including infections in newborns and in other susceptible patients, such as those with cystic fibrosis. It’s a popular drug in developing countries because it is highly effective and inexpensive. Yet researchers estimate that ...
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Scientists Develop New Gene Therapy For Deafness

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 01-05-2021
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Delivering healthy genetic material into the inner ear cells of mice with a genetic defect that causes deafness enables the cells to function normally, according to a new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU). The novel treatment prevented the gradual deterioration of hearing in these mice. It could lead to a breakthrough in treating children born with various mutations that eventually cause deafness The study, led by Prof. Karen Avraham of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience, was published in EMBO Molecular Medicine on December 22. Deafness is the most common ...
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New Research Makes It Possible To Measure Sounds Of Tinnitus

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 12-08-2020
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Some experiences in life are hard to describe, but that doesn't make them any less real. Around the world, up to 20 percent of people experience a chronic phantom ringing or buzzing in their ears, known as tinnitus. The sounds - often high-pitched - are not connected to any known acoustic stimuli, and today, diagnosis depends solely on subjective experiences relayed by patients. Now, scientists in Australia think they have devised a method to 'see' the perception of tinnitus in the brain. It could be the first objective clinical tool for measuring someone's tinnitus, and a step towards finding ways to treat this widespread and incurable condition. In recent ...
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Untreated Hearing Loss Can Lead To Safety Risks

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 12-01-2020
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Untreated hearing loss can give rise to a number of problems, including depression and anxiety. The first step to addressing those concerns is as simple as taking a hearing test. Reduced hearing loss means reduced sensory input, or the feeling that the walls are closing in on a person. This leads to symptoms that can mirror certain cognitive disorders, such as dementia. People who have hearing loss can fail to respond, or fail to respond in the appropriate way or in a timely fashion. Brenda Haugen, who owns AudioCare Hearing Center in Grand Forks, says people can misconstrue those symptoms in their older relatives. “You have a lot of people who are ...
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Study Links COVID-19 To Worsening Tinnitus Symptoms

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 11-24-2020
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New research reveals that tinnitus, a common condition that causes the perception of noise in the ear and head, is being exacerbated by COVID-19 -- as well as the measures helping to keep us safe. The study of 3,103 people with tinnitus was led by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), with support from the British Tinnitus Association and the American Tinnitus Association. The study involved participants from 48 countries, with the vast majority coming from the UK and the US. Published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health , the research found that 40% of those displaying symptoms of COVID-19 simultaneously experience a worsening of their tinnitus. ...
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New Smartwatch Alerts Hearing Impaired To Nearby Sounds

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 11-10-2020
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A new smartwatch app alerts users who are deaf or hard of hearing of nearby sounds, such as microwave beeps or car horns. “The main motivation [for the app] came from my own experience, and conversations that my colleagues and I have had with deaf and hard of hearing people over several years,” says Dhruv Jain, who presented the system, called SoundWatch, at the virtual ASSETS conference on October 28. Jain, who is hard of hearing, uses SoundWatch at home to avoid sleeping through a smoke alarm. “On a nature walk, it’ll tell me that there’s birds chirping, or there might be a waterfall nearby,” he says. “Those sounds make me feel more present and connected ...
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Coronavirus Linked To Sudden Hearing Loss

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 11-03-2020
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As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic evolves, the virus's symptoms continue to expand across the human body. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the coronavirus infection causes many severe complications in some people, especially those at a higher risk of developing a serious illness. Many complications have been reported, including heart disease and prolonged respiratory issues in a group of people called “long-haulers.” Now, a new worrying finding shows that COVID-19 can cause sudden and irreversible hearing loss in patients. A team of researchers at the University College London report a few cases of hearing ...
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Three Steps To Protect Your Hearing

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 10-20-2020
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The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates 22 million workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise at work each year and the effects go far beyond loss of hearing. Exposure to excessive noise can affect more than just workers’ hearing. It can also create dangerous situations, such as an inability to hear warning signals, a decline in one’s ability to communicate with fellow employees and a decrease in one’s ability to concentrate. Excessive noise has even been found to cause stomach problems and high blood pressure. When you consider the harm excessive noise actually creates in the work environment, you can see that the dangers are far reaching ...
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Registration is Open

By Vaughn Bray posted 10-15-2020
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Please register for the October 30th, 31st Virtual Conference using the link in Chapter Happenings. Thank you for your patience; this situation was unprecedented. We are looking forward to three great classes from presenters will known by many of you.
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Sudden Hearing Loss Linked To COVID-19

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 10-13-2020
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A man in the U.K. developed sudden and permanent hearing loss in one ear after battling a severe case of COVID-19 , according to a new report. His doctors are now warning others to be on the lookout for this rare but serious complication, which has been reported in a handful of COVID-19 patients around the world. Early identification of sudden hearing loss is important because the condition can potentially be reversed with prompt treatment using steroids, the authors said. However, for the U.K. patient, treatment only partially improved his hearing, the report said. Sudden hearing loss, also known as sudden deafness, is rapid and unexplained hearing loss ...
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Research Further Defines How Inner Ear Works

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 10-06-2020
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We hear sounds in part because tiny filaments inside our inner ears help convert voices, music and noises into electrical signals that are sent to our brains for processing. Now, scientists have mapped and simulated those filaments at the atomic level, a discovery that shed lights on how the inner ear works and that could help researchers learn more about how and why people lose the ability to hear. The findings, published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , involve very fine filaments in the inner ear called tip links. When sound vibrations reach the inner ear, the vibrations cause those tip links to stretch and open ion channels ...
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Studies Show Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Can Be Blocked With Drug Compound

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 09-22-2020
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Inner hair cells of the cochlea (green and blue) excite auditory nerve fibers (red) by releasing glutamate, a chemical signal that helps convert sound waves into electrical signals that travel to the brain. But too much glutamate can be harmful, leading to noise-induced hearing loss. Studying mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and their colleagues have shown that a drug compound can block damage caused by too much glutamate signaling, raising the possibility of medication that prevents noise-induced hearing loss. Loud noise can damage the inner ear and cause hearing loss. Studying mice, researchers at Washington University ...
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Study Of Mature Hair Cells Shows Promise In Hearing Loss Treatment

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 09-15-2020
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The sensory cells that line the inner ear, known as hair cells, play an important role in our sense of hearing, but are also prone to irreversible damage from stresses like excessive noise. Scientists investigating regenerative treatments for this kind of hearing loss have made an important advance, demonstrating how a single protein can determine whether embryonic hair cells mature into adult hair cells, or follow a different path entirely. The research was conducted by scientists at the University of Maryland and Stanford University, who were investigating the maturation process of hair cells and how it might be leveraged to address hearing loss. Through ...
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Tinnitus Linked To Vitamin B12 Deficiency

By Chelsea Bajjey posted 09-08-2020
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Among the roles that vitamin B12 performs is keeping your blood and nerve cells healthy, as well as help in making DNA, the genetic material present in all cells. You can bet sufficient amounts of vitamin B12 in your diet. For those who follow a purely vegan diet, may struggle to fill the amount required by the body. This is because plant-based foods have very little to none of this important nutrient. This is why vegans are oftentimes at a higher risk of suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency. A Warning Sign In the Ear The National Health Service reveals that tinnitus noises may take on a buzzing or ringing sound. Sometimes you may hear some hissing, humming, ...
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