Hearing News Watch

BETHESDA, MD—The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) has revised www.hearingloss.org, its web site, which offers authoritative information for 36 million Americans with hearing loss. The HLAA site underwent a major redesign that makes it more intuitive, provides better navigation, and makes it easier to find specific content in the vast collection of hearing loss resources available to visitors. Brenda

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA—Every dollar invested in early intervention services for children with hearing loss reaps $2 in benefits to the community. So states First Voice, a coalition of non-profit centers in Australia that help children with hearing loss, in a report issued on August 22. Until recently, children born with severe hearing loss often faced long odds against being well educated

PHILADELPHIA—Scientists have found further evidence that there’s truth to the old saying, “Use it or lose it.” A group of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has reported that when hearing loss causes auditory areas of the brain to be deprived of sound, the brain cells begin to atrophy. And, as a result, people

BOSTON—An elected official who is a leading advocate for people with hearing loss in Massachusetts will welcome International Hearing Society (IHS) members to his state when the organization holds its 60th Annual Convention & Expo in Boston from September 14-17. State Rep. John Scibak (D-South Hadley) will participate in the opening Keynote Lunch on Thursday, September 15. Massachusetts Governor Deval

DENVER—Azithromycin, a drug that is used in treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), also causes hearing loss in a small percentage of patients to whom it is prescribed. So reported scientists from Denver Health and from the COPD Clinical Research Network writing in the August 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Their randomized controlled trial found that

WASHINGTON, DC—Having trouble finding a cell phone that you—or your hearing aid patients–can use with hearing aids? If so, the Better Hearing Institute may be able to help you out. As a service to hearing aid owners and hearing healthcare professionals, the Washington-based non-profit organization has created a permanent page (betterhearing.org/hearing_loss_treatment/cellphones.cfm) on its web site listing all compatible cell phones

TORONTO–Marshall Chasin, AuD, MSc, editor of the Hear the Music section of hearinghealthmatters.org, will present a course at Audiology Online on hearing aid fittings that will debut on September 28. Chasin is also director of research at the Musicians’ Clinics of Canada. Entitled “Hearing Aid Fittings: Different Programs for Different Languages,” the course will discuss how linguistic variations may require

PASADENA, CA—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected a settlement on August 19 that would have given consumers who suffered hearing loss from using Bluetooth headsets a tiny fraction of the amount that would have been awarded to their lawyers. As reported by Tim Hull, of the Courthouse News Service, the class action combined 26 lawsuits around

GREENFORD, UK—Glaxo Group Limited (GSK) will take a £1,250,000 (about $2 million) equity stake in Autifony Therapeutics Ltd., a new British biotech company spun off from GSK. Under the agreement, announced on August 22, the British subsidiary of the global pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, will own 25.4% of Autifony. In exchange, the Glaxo Group will hand over voltage-gated ion channel modulator

LOS ANGELES—Audiologists, otolaryngologists, audiologists, deaf educators, representatives of industry, and others who care about hearing will gather here September 8-9 for the second Conference of the Coalition for Global Hearing Health. Following up on last year’s conference, attendees will seek consensus on the best practices in global outreach. House Research Institute is hosting the event. The mission of the Coalition