Robert Traynor

Robert M. Traynor, Ed.D., is a hearing industry consultant, trainer, professor, conference speaker, practice manager and author. He is a founding member of HHTM and had previously written a regular weekly column for the site for many years. He has decades of experience teaching courses and training clinicians within the field of audiology with specific emphasis in hearing and tinnitus rehabilitation. He serves as Adjunct Faculty in Audiology at the University of Florida, University of Northern Colorado, University of Colorado and The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

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6th Coalition for Global Health Conference

This week’s Hearing International has been in the making for a few weeks. This week’s post is by Dr. Jackie Clark presenting the Coalition for Global hearing Health and its conference coming up in October. This 6th Coalition for Global Hearing Health Conference, hosted at Gallaudet University from October 9th – 10th, 2015, promises to exceed all of its own past conference records

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The Hum

It creeps in slowly in the dark of night, and once inside, it almost never goes away. It’s known as the Hum, a steady, droning sound that’s heard in places as disparate as Taos, New Mexico; Bristol, England; Kokomo, Indiana; Auckland, New Zealand; Largs, Scotland and, as it turns out, many other places. While reports of “unidentified humming sounds” pop

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Auditory Hallucinations and ‘Voice Hearing’ for Audiologists

My first clinical encounter with auditory hallucinations occurred during an early 1980s tinnitus study while I was Director of Aural Rehabilitation at the University of Northern Colorado. At the time, we were experimenting with biofeedback in the clinic to facilitate relaxation that, in some patients, seemed to reduced their tinnitus. One of our patients was an 89-year-old woman who had recently lost her husband.

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Cultural Differences in Hearing Aid Use

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) these are the current facts on deafness and hearing loss around the world: 360 million people (328 Million and 32 Million children) worldwide have disabling hearing loss (40 dB or greater for the better ear for adults)(greater than 30 dB in the better ear for children). The majority of people with disabling hearing loss

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Sonic Booms – Another Source of Noise Exposure?

In 1953, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, achieving a speed of 1,650 miles per hour and an altitude of over 90,000 feet. This historic feat introduced the world to sonic booms, the thunderous noise produced when an aircraft or aerospace vehicle exceeds the speed of sound. Sonic booms have since fascinated audiologists and impacted communities near testing ranges. This

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The War of Jenkins’ Ear

All wars have names, and England has taken part in many. The Wars of the Roses, The War of Spanish Succession, The Boer War and, of course World War I and World War II, but the War of Jenkins’ Ear is an odd sounding one! Although this war is not usually studied in history courses, inquiring audiologists will want to know what kind of a war

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Deafness in Dogs

Not only humans are affected by deafness; dogs are also. Hearing is important for dogs for their own social interaction, and to make them more enjoyable companions. It is also vital for working dogs to hear well so they can do their various jobs effectively. Dogs who are deaf in one ear have difficulty localizing sound, which may affect their

Featured image for “Acupuncture and Hearing Loss – Revisited”

Acupuncture and Hearing Loss – Revisited

A few years ago (2011) at Hearing International we visited the topic of acupuncture and hearing loss (Part I and Part II). At the time, we were reviewing the procedure as it related to curing hearing loss and tinnitus. Acupuncture, of course, has been around for centuries and the procedure has been credited as a treatment for many diseases, including asthma,

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Mona Lisa…..Smile!

It is said that the Mona Lisa is “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world.” The painting, according to Total History (2015), is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). The subject is thought to be the

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The UK Releases a New Action Plan on Hearing Loss

The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK) was launched in 1948. It was borne out of a long-held ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth, a principle that remains central to its mission. With the exception of some charges, such as prescriptions, optical and dental services, the NHS in England remains free for any UK resident. It currently serves more