Hearing News Watch

  LIVONIA, MI–The Fit to Serve bill, discussed last week in this blog’s update on pending federal legislation related to hearing health, got a big boost recently when Julia Beall-McKelvey, a Pennsylvania hearing aid specialist, donated $15,000 to the International Hearing Society (IHS) advocacy fund for the veteran-oriented initiative. Her contribution, along with others made at IHS’s annual meeting, provided $100,000

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Foundation has published an extensive, evidence-based clinical practice guideline to improve the diagnosis and management of tinnitus. The guideline, the first of its kind, appears as a supplement to the October 2014 issue of the journal Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Its stated purpose is “to provide evidence-based recommendations for clinicians

NAERUM, DENMARK—Hearing care professionals and students can now take a free online course and gain a practical introduction to the fundamentals of patient-centered Developed by the Ida Institute, a non-profit organization funded by the Oticon Foundation, the Ida Basics Course is designed to encourage reflection on the clinician’s approach to patient care and suggest concepts and methods for improving current

By David H. Kirkwood WASHINGTON, DC—After taking two months off to campaign for re-election, the 113rd Congress will finally return to Washington sometime in November for a brief lame duck session. There it will find a slew of bills related to hearing care waiting for them. Barring a miracle, this Congress, which has enacted less legislation to date than any

BALTIMORE—Are you a deaf or hard-of-hearing person who has worked as a package handler for FedEx Ground since 2006 or applied for such a position? Probably not, but if you are and you feel that the company, discriminated against you, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) wants to hear about it. On October 10, that agency brought a lawsuit

By David H. Kirkwood TUCSON—Two accomplished audiologists, with a combined experience of more than 60 years in private practice, have joined the editorial team at HearingHealthMatters.org. On October 6, Angela Loavenbruck, EdD, and Loleata “Lolly” Wigall, MS, became co-editors of Hearing Views, which every week offers a fresh and original opinion, perspective, or commentary on some topic related to hearing.

WASHINGTON, DC—Researchers have found that untreated hearing loss and the ensuing communication difficulties and social isolation are correlated with increased incidence of depression and other mental health issues. That’s why in observance of World Mental Health Day 2014, October 10, the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is urging adults of all ages to get their hearing tested to help protect their

By David H. Kirkwood NEW YORK–Two former New York City police officers–Jim Phillips and Dan Carione–will have a chance to prove at trial that they should not have been forced to retire because they wore hearing aids—hearing aids that the New York Police Department (NYPD) paid for. As previously discussed on this blog, Carione, now aged 47, and Phillips, 43, were

DAYTONA BEACH, FL—When 52-year-old Edward P. Miller of Port Orange, FL, failed to respond to a plainclothes officer’s instructions because of his deafness, the officer, Volusia County sheriff’s deputy Joel Hernandez, fired at him through the windshield of the SUV where Miller was sitting, killing him. So said Miller’s 25-year-old son, also named Edward, to Frank Fernandez, a reporter for the

PISCATAWAY, NJ—An alarming one out of every six American teenagers, or 17%, reports experiencing ringing, roaring, buzzing, or pain in their ears “often or all of the time” after listening to loud music or being exposed to power tools and other sources of loud noise. An additional 29%–for a total of 46%, close to half–report sometimes experiencing such potential signs of