Hearing News Watch

Apr. 26, 2011

Audiologists helping kids in Japan

David Kirkwood
NORMAL, IL–The Educational Audiology Association (EAA) and the Marion Downs Hearing Center in Boulder, CO, have teamed up in a relief effort focused on schools for the deaf and for mainstream deaf and hard-of hearing students in areas of Japan recently  devastated by  earthquake and tsunami. A secure site for monetary donations has been established at Marion Downs Hearing Center
Apr. 26, 2011

Alma mater honors Ross Roeser

David Kirkwood
DeKALB, IL–Ross J. Roeser, PhD, the founder and long-time former executive director of the Callier Hearing and Speech Center in Dallas, has received the Northern Illinois University College of Health and Human Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award for 2011. Roeser, who earned his MA in audiology from NIU in 1967, is currently a chaired professor at the University of Texas, Dallas/
Apr. 22, 2011

NIH-funded study to look at value of high-tech hearing aids

David Kirkwood
MEMPHIS, TN–Robyn Cox, PhD, a prominent professor of audiology at the University of Memphis, has been awarded a  5-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to research the effectiveness of hearing aids. Cox will recruit subjects to use hearing aids in the school’s laboratory and in their daily lives while measuring their performance with different levels of
Apr. 22, 2011

Two restaurants looped for hearing-impaired

David Kirkwood
SARASOTA, FL–Two local restaurants in this Gulf Coast city are the first in the nation to offer a tabletop sound system that sends voices from a microphone directly into a hearing aid or cochlear implant, according to Edward F. Ogiba, president of the Hearing Loss Association of Sarasota. The restaurants–Caragiulo’s and Owens Fish Camp–are both owned by Paul Caragiulo, who
Apr. 22, 2011

Seeing an MD often doesn’t lead to hearing help

David Kirkwood
LONDON–Thirty-nine percent of people in the United Kingdom who consult their primary-care physician about a hearing loss go no further to seek a solution, according to a study reported this week by the British Hearing Aid Manufacturers Association (BHAMA). The EuroTrak United Kingdom study asked 15,000 consumers about their hearing and their knowledge of hearing aids in the most comprehensive
Apr. 22, 2011

Hearing loss is no handicap, says NHL player

David Kirkwood
PITTSBURGH-Trailing three games to one in its first round match-up against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be facing elimination when it takes the ice here Saturday (April 23). If there’s one player on the team suited to help lead Tampa Bay back from the brink, it may be right wing Steve
Apr. 18, 2011

Hearing aid sales rise 5% in first quarter

David Kirkwood
WASHINGTON, DC–U.S. hearing aid sales increased by 5.0% during the first three months of 2011 over the same period last year, according to data collected from manufacturers by the Hearing Industries Association. The fastest growth was in sales to the Department of Veterans Affairs, which rose by 7.6% over 2010. The 135,725 instruments purchased by the VA represented 19.7% of
Apr. 18, 2011

Time to nominate heroes in hearing

David Kirkwood
SOMERSET, NJ–Do you know a student or adult who has overcome hearing loss to make remarkable accomplishments.  Is there a volunteer in your community who has made an extraordinary effort to serve the needs of those with hearing loss? Do you know of a hearing healthcare professional whose excellence deserves national recognition? If you answered yes to any of these
Apr. 18, 2011

AAA president to be keynoter 

David Kirkwood
ANAHEIM, CA–Therese Walden, PhD, who will become president of the American Academy of Audiology on July 1, will be the keynote speaker at the California Academy of Audiology’s 12th Annual Conference September 22-24. Other highlighted speakers will include Kathleen Campbell, PhD, who will update audiologists on the latest findings in ototoxicity, and Laura Dreisbach Hawe, PhD, who will speak on
Apr. 15, 2011

Hearing aid tax credit bill introduced

David Kirkwood
WASHINGTON, DC—In what has become a biennial tradition, legislation was introduced April 12 in the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide a $500 tax credit per hearing aid purchased for children and for adults age 55 and older.  Tom Latham (R-IA) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) introduced H.R. 1479 with 36 original co-sponsors. The bill is unchanged from the bill