Hear The Music

This is a continuation of last week’s discussion of a genetically mediated biochemical process that may cause mice to be less susceptible to hearing loss.  In that blog, I had lauded the research, but had criticized the sensationalism of its coverage.  I had stated that there were other well-known features of the cochlea that can be protective.  One has been

A recent news report noted that loud sounds may not only not be damaging, but may actually be protective.  The way the story broke however was a bit disingenuous and the headline was simplistic and slightly sensationalist.  The title was “Concert Cacophony: Short-Term Hearing Loss Can Be Protective,” but this only tells one side of a well-known story.  I guess that

In an online version of the journal Pediatrics (https://pediatrics.aappublications.org) for April 15, 2013, more evidence was found that the sound of music could be beneficial for newborns.  It was found that premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) who had respiratory difficulties did slightly better when presented with recorded sounds of what their mother’s voice would have sounded

I just returned from the American Academy of Audiology’s annual conference in Anaheim, CA, called AudiologyNOW.  It’s really half “conference” with presented papers, half “trade show” where the newest products are unveiled, and half “networking” with old and new friends and colleagues.  And like all large conferences, I always learn quite a bit, despite my old lazy self. One thing

Today was the first time that I was ever late for work.  I was busy reading a fascinating article about the latest information about the possible protective role(s) of the efferent pathway in the auditory system, and I lost track of time.  This is nothing new and there have been a number of articles over the past decade (many from

Music videos show many musicians (and their sound technicians) wearing electric monitoring systems called in-ear monitors.  These look like hearing aids, smell like hearing aids, and even taste like hearing aids, and to a great extent, they are hearing aids, except that they are not personalized to an individual’s hearing loss.  These in-ear monitors have amplifiers, up to 5 different

Josef Stalin was known for many things, but record production was not one of them. He did love music- especially military marches- which is why he loved the music of Dmitri Shostakovitch.  In fact he loved that form of music so much that he demanded that Shostakovitch only write military marches. This was a major reason why Shostakovitch and two

In the summer of 2010 a complaint was registered with the US District Court (Oregon) against Justin Bieber, Island Def Jam Records, and the concert promoter, AEG Worldwide.  In January of this year, it was withdrawn for a number of reasons- one of which was lack of legal representation. Justin Bieber (who, like Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky, hails from

Only rarely do I see a musician in my audiology clinic who does not have a temporary threshold shift (also known as TTS).  This is especially true of classical musicians who perform 7 times a week (with Mondays off but three shows on the weekend- two evenings and a matinee), rehearse and practice several hours each day, and teach several

Ian O’Brien has been a guest blogger for us in the past and we are glad to welcome him back.  Ian hails from Australia (and I was tempted to put his picture upside down but didn’t think anyone would get my humor).  He has a couple of master’s degrees (music and audiology) and is working hard on his PhD at