Hearing News Watch

The lulling white noise or gentle sounds of nature that an infant sleep machine (ISP) emits can bring relief to wakeful babies and their exhausted parents. However, research by scientists at the University of Toronto suggests that these popular devices, if not used carefully, can pose a threat to an infant’s hearing. A study published online on March 3 in

RESTON, VA—When Lawrence Eng, AuD, becomes president of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) on July 1, 2015, he will be the first man to lead the organization since 2009, when Patrick Feeney, PhD, completed his term. As reported this week on the AAA web site, Eng was elected by the membership to serve as president-elect for a year starting

ORLANDO—Ron Leavitt, AuD, whose career has spanned a wide range of audiologic activities, will receive the Larry Mauldin Award for Excellence in Education at AudiologyNOW! 2014. The annual convention of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) will be held March 26-29 in Orlando. The Mauldin award, which is presented annually by Beltone Electronics, honors the memory of the late Larry

 By David H. Kirkwood COLLEGE PARK/BALTIMORE, MD–Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli, Doc Watson, Ray Charles, Art Tatum, Ronnie Milsap, Sonny Terry, Blind Lemon Jefferson… The list of great singers and instrumentalists who were blind from birth or childhood goes on and on. It’s often been theorized that their blindness may have been a factor in the development of their musical genius.

  COPENHAGEN–Every new hearing aid that’s launched is totally unique, innovative, the very latest and greatest—according to the company that developed it and is determined to promote it. However, occasionally a new hearing aid creates genuine excitement in the marketplace of professionals who will fit it and consumers who will wear it. Today (February 24) such an event occurred when

  By David H. Kirkwood SILVER SPRING, MD–The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has  more than 100, highly diverse, public comments to consider in deciding if it should implement or rethink a proposed new guidance document that it issued on November 7. The document, drafted by the Ear, Nose, and Throat Devices Branch of FDA’s Center for Devices and

  HAVANA & TOKYO—It appears from two widely reported news stories that Fidel Castro and Mamoru Samuragochi are on the opposite ends of the scale between denying hearing loss and accepting, even embracing, the condition. Castro, or more likely the government office that manages the public image of Cuba’s frail 88-year-old former president, seems not to want the world to

WASHINGTON, DC–The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) unveiled a renovated web site this week, as part of its broader effort to inspire a more action-oriented outlook on the state of hearing loss in America. The institute, which is the educational arm of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA), recognizes the substantial link between hearing health and active lifestyles, whole health, quality of

SAN FRANCISCO—What cochlear implant wearers have long yearned for—an entirely implantable system without the external transmitter, wire, microphone, and battery that are now standard—appears to have moved a step closer to reality this week. In a paper to be presented February 11 at the IEEE International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco, researchers describe a newly developed low-power signal-processing

COLUMBUS—The Ohio legislature is considering a bill that would make Ohio only the fourth state in the nation to require health insurance companies to include hearing aids as part of their basic health coverage for people of all ages. Seventeen states require that health insurance benefits plans pay for hearing aids for children, but only three, relatively small, states–Arkansas, New