Hearing News Watch

TUCSON, AZ—Hearinghealthmatters.org has named C. Scot Frink, a prominent audiologist and hearing instrument specialist, as its newest contributing editor. Last month, he was selected by Rayovac as National Hearing Professional of the Year for 2011. Scot, who is president of Salem Audiology Clinic, grew up in hearing care. His father, Norman Frint, was one of the first dispensing audiologists in

STÄFA, SWITZERLAND—More than four out of five hearing aid wearers in the U.S. said they enjoyed an increased quality of life because of their devices, according to “Hearing Is Living,” an international study commissioned by Hear the World. The findings, said a December 7 statement accompanying the release of the initial data, “debunk common myth around hearing loss and hearing aids.”

Tinnitus, a distressing  condition that commonly accompanies hearing loss, is the subject of a new e-Guide for consumers published by the Better Hearing Institute (BHI). Written by Richard Tyler, PhD, one of the world’s leading authorities on tinnitus, Your Guide to Tinnitus is available to consumers and to hearing professionals who want to share it with their patients. Just click

NAERUM, DK— The Ida Institute has created a counseling tool to help clinicians view the hearing rehabilitation process through the eyes of a pediatric patient. In so doing, My World: Understanding Hearing Loss from the Child’s Perspective is expected to enable practitioners to better address the challenges that children with hearing loss face in their day-to-day interactions. This latest addition

ST. PAUL, MN—Parents hoping to light up their young children’s eyes with Christmas toys should take care not to unintentionally affect their ears as well. So advises the Sight & Hearing Association (SHA), a Minnesota-based non-profit organization, which reported that 24 toys tested for noise levels prior to the holiday shopping season produced sounds louder than 100 dB—similar to the

PORTLAND, OR—As a 14-month-old baby in England, Peter Steyger suddenly lost his hearing, the result of an antibiotic given to him to treat meningitis. Now, 48 years later, as a scientist at the Oregon Hearing Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), he may have discovered exactly how aminoglycosides, the class of antibiotics that caused his deafness. In

WASHINGTON, DC–Approximately 75% of Americans age 50 and over view hearing as a very important or extremely important issue for them personally, according to a survey commissioned by AARP and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The results of the survey, which was conducted in September by Crux Research, Inc., were released last week by the sponsoring organizations. The report published by

HARRISONBURG, VA–James Mason University has awarded the 2011 Roger Ruth Memorial Fund Student Research Awards to three graduate students in audiology at the university. The awards were created in memory of Dr. Roger Ruth, 1950–2009, for his tireless efforts to promote student research as an integral part of graduate education in audiology. This year’s recipients were Verleyne Andrews and Kristie

ORLANDO/TAMPA—A $1.1 million grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education will enable the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando and the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa to train speech-language pathologists to help deaf and hard-of-hearing children whose first language may not be English. Dr. Linda I. Rosa-Lugo, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences

MADISON, WI—C. Scot Frink, president of Salem [OR] Audiology Clinic, was named National Hearing Professional of the Year for 2011 on November 29 by Rayovac, the largest manufacturer of hearing aid batteries in the world. Last year, Frink was named Rayovac’s Pacific Northwest Hearing Professional of the Year. Also honored by Rayovac this year as regional Professionals of the Year