ELMHURST, ILLINOIS — The American Hearing Research Foundation (AHRF) announced that it has partnered with PBS to sponsor a 5-minute video, “Spotlight on Hearing and Balance”. The purpose of the video is to educate the public on Meniere’s disease.
Meniere’s disease affects an estimated 615,000 people in the US, and approximately 5 million worldwide. The debilitating condition — with symptoms of vertigo, ear pressure, hearing loss and tinnitus — is typically managed, with varying degrees of success, through dietary changes, diuretics and steroids.
Currently, there are no FDA-approved drugs or treatment for the condition.
“Until someone suffers themselves from Meniere’s disease, or is close to a friend or loved one with the condition, it’s difficult to imagine the impact that it can have on everyday life. Most of us take our hearing and especially our balance for granted. But when a condition like Meniere’s disease strikes, entire lives change. At AHRF, we’re committed to investing in research to better understand Meniere’s disease and other hearing and balance disorders of the inner ear so we can identify treatments that will make a difference.”
— Alan Micco, MD, President of AHRF
The video, Spotlight on Hearing and Balance, helps highlight the connection between hearing and balance and features people who live with Meniere’s disease. People like JesseLee Jones, a Nashville country singer, and Kim Mayer, a Wisconsin-based physical therapist, who share their stories in order to allow viewers to better understand the reality of living with Meniere’s disease.
The video can be viewed here:
About the American Hearing Research Foundation
The American Hearing Research Foundation (AHRF) is a nonprofit organization that has been making new discoveries possible for more than 60 years by funding novel research to better understand and overcome hearing and balance disorders of the inner ear. Since 2010, the organization has funded 66 projects with more than $1.4 million in research grants. Each year, AHRF offers a $25,000 grant for Meniere’s disease research. For more information visit the AHRF website here.
The closed captioning is terrible. Without the sound turned on I had trouble following it, especially when it said ‘air’ when it meant ‘ear’ and a several other mistakes like that.