David Kirkwood

A longtime observer of the hearing healthcare scene, David Kirkwood was editor-in-chief of The Hearing Journal from 1990 through 2010. Among the honors he received was a 2006 President’s Award from the American Academy of Audiology. Previously, he spent 15 years as editor and publisher of a weekly community newspaper in Scarsdale, NY. Before finding his way into journalism, he earned degrees in history from Cornell University (where he was an outstanding pinball player) and the University of California at Berkeley. When he isn’t blogging at Hearing Health & Technology Matters, David enjoys spending time with his wife, Annie, going to plays and movies in New York, traveling, and relaxing in their vacation place in Mid-Coast Maine. His other avocations include rooting for the Yankees and throwing tennis balls for his puli, Isaac.

Football and hearing issues came together for the Super Bowl

By David H. Kirkwood EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ—There were a lot of hearing angles to the 2014 Super Bowl, played last Sunday in New Jersey. For one thing, there was the Seattle Seahawks’ much heralded (and much criticized) “12th Man,” as the team’s incredibly noisy legion of fans came to be known. As noted by ASHA’s Joe Cerquone on the Hearing Views

Scientists see link between hearing loss and accelerated shrinkage of brain tissue

BALTIMORE, MD—Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute on Aging have found a correlation between hearing loss in older adults and a faster rate of shrinkage of the brain than occurs among people of the same age with better hearing. For their study, published in the journal NeuroImage, Frank Lin, MD, PhD, and his eight co-authors drew upon

New test lets people monitor their hearing health at home

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL–Etymotic Research has released a Home Hearing Test that enables people to monitor the hearing health of family members and friends without need to go to a professional office for testing. The hearing test, which was developed by audiologists, debuted at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and is now available for purchase. Unlike questionnaires

AudiologyOnline names continuing ed director

SAN ANTONIO–Allied Health Media, parent company of AudiologyOnline, has appointed Malia Johnson as continuing education sales director. Johnson has 24 years of experience in the allied health field track record in sales. As vice-president of recruitment at Welsh Bello, she oversaw the hiring, training, and evaluation of allied and nursing professionals in a number of different settings. In that role, she

Marion Downs, the First Lady of Audiology, is feted on her 100th birthday

By Jerry Northern More than 600 exuberant attendees gathered in Denver on January 26 to honor and celebrate the 100th birthday of the First Lady of Audiology, Dr. Marion Downs. Marion Downs is the internationally acclaimed audiologist who, among her many significant contributions to helping persons with hearing loss, brought attention to the importance of early identification of hearing loss

ASHA joins partners from five nations in International Communication Project 2014

ROCKVILLE, MD—Consider the following: An estimated 40 million people in the United States have communication disorders. In Canada, a third of employed people who have hearing difficulties say that their conditions limit the amount or kind of work they can perform. More than 1.1 million Australians have difficulty communicating. These statistics and others like them have inspired organizations in six

Henry Meltsner dies; was co-founder of Hal-Hen and Widex USA

Henry Meltsner, who with his friend and business partner Harold Spar, started Hal-Hen and Widex USA, died January 12 at the age of 92. Not only did the navy buddies start and run two of the most enduring American companies in the hearing industry, they successfully turned them over to the next second generation, their sons, Ron Meltsner and Eric

Hearing aid establishment and PSAP advocates clash over proposed FDA regulations

For an updated post on this subject, click here. By David H. Kirkwood ROCKVILLE, MD–A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal to tighten existing restrictions on the marketing of personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) is arousing both a storm of criticism and strong support from various interested parties. Although the February 5 deadline for submitting responses to FDA’s proposed

Super Bowl-bound player’s victory over hearing loss has made him a video star

SEATTLE—The National Football League conference championship games are a big deal for pretty much all American sports fans. However, people who share this blog’s interest in hearing and hearing health had two extra reasons to watch Sunday’s battle between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers for the National Football Conference (NFC) crown. One was the Seahawks’ back-up fullback

Judith Gravel Scholarship is awarded to a promising future audiologist

TUCSON, AZ–Johnna Tanji, a fourth-year AuD student at the University of Arizona in Tucson, has been awarded the annual Judith Gravel Fellowship in Pediatric Audiology. The fellowship honors the memory of the late Judy Gravel, PhD, a prominent and beloved audiologist who did much to advance the audiologic care of children in the United States and beyond. The Hear the