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.

Disease Modifying Drugs for Hearing Loss

Most audiologists know that the ability to hear relies upon small sensory cells or “hair cells” in the inner ear. Many types of commonly acquired hearing loss are the result of damage or death to these delicate hair cells, including noise-induced hearing loss, presbycusis (age-related hearing loss), and ototoxic hearing loss (hearing loss that occurs after a patient is exposed

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A Cure for Badly Protruding/Prominent Ears

The protrusion of ears can be a significant problem. We can all relate to the teasing that results from being different, especially as teenagers. Protruding ears affect about 5% of the general population worldwide and is the most frequent deformity of the head and neck area. This week’s Hearing International will review the problem and present a new surgical implant procedure for its

Marion P. Downs, DHS, Hon Sc.D. – International Audiologist

In a couple of months it will be 41 years since the young future editor of Hearing International first met Dr. Marion P. Downs, then a Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. That fateful day she had been assigned to be one of my internship supervisors, responsible for a very green aspiring audiologist. Little did I

The Hearing Loss Pill

The causes of hearing impairment are numerous, but if there were a pill that would slow the aging process of the inner ear and make it less susceptible to hearing loss from noise exposure, hearing losses could be reduced in well over 60% of the worldwide hearing impaired population. A few months ago, Hearing International ran a post entitled the Morning After Pill that discussed ongoing research

Against the Odds, Deaf Players Have Made an Impact on American Football

No matter where in the world we live, most of us are fans of the sports that we grew up playing. In most of the world, “football” refers to what Americans call soccer. Although it’s not quite the World Cup, in the US, the run to the Super Bowl is a major sporting event. American Football, or Gridiron Football,as it is

Give Your Ears a Happy New Year

“Hope Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it will be happier’…” Alfred Tennyson New Year’s is a time of anticipation and hope that in the year ahead things will be done, aspirations completed, and new goals set. New Year’s Eve, the last day on the Gregorian calendar, is a time for making resolutions for the new year and

Reader’s Choice 2013: Who is the Real “Father of Audiology”

This post is a Reader’s Choice selection for 2013. Around the world there is usually one individual that stands out as the person that began the profession of Audiology in their respective country. These are often those that came to the US, or in later years, other countries as international students and took the profession home and began its practice. These individuals are often

Happy New Year!

Dear Readers: During this holiday season, the editors at Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) are taking some time off. However, we are not leaving you without anything to read on our blog this week. Instead, we are publishing a special holiday edition filled with what we call our Readers’ Choices. The Readers’ Choices are the posts published on each

The Royal Order of Screechers

Ceremonies for crossing the Equator are famous. The Shellbacks initiate the Pollywogs to the mysteries of the deep. The ceremony is observed by sailors and other military personnel as well as cruise ships that cross the equator. While these ceremonies are quite common, there are other ceremonies that are not so well known. In the northerly province of Newfoundland where it’s frequently dark

The Hearing Loss of Desmond Tutu

This past week the world was saddened by the passing of a truly historic figure and the “father of his country,” Nelson Mandela. As this is prepared at Hearing International, President Obama and four former US presidents, Jimmy Carter, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush are on their way to Johannesburg, South Africa, for the memorial ceremonies. Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu, pictured above with