Hearing News Watch

SALEM, OR—Lending a helping hand to people with hearing and vision problems has been a Lions Club International mission for decades. One way members of the service organization have done this is by collecting and donating used hearing aids and eyeglasses to people in need. However, in recent years, liability concerns have sometimes stood in their way. The Lions have

CHICAGO–Fred Cohen, an attorney who blogs regularly at hearinghealthmatters.com, has been selected by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care to receive its 2011 B.J. Anno Award of Excellence in Communication. Cohen, who writes the weekly column The Law and Hearing on this site, will be honored for his outstanding contribution to the field of correctional health care. He wrote

BOULDER, CO–A new bone-conduction implantable hearing device received market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 1. Known as the Otomag Alpha 1, the system was developed by Boulder-based Sophono, Inc. (sophono.com), to treat conductive and mixed hearing loss, as well as single-sided deafness. Existing bone-conduction systems, such as those made by Oticon Medical and Cochlear,

BALTIMORE–The established treatment for sudden hearing loss has long been a course of oral steroids. However, a study headed by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and reported in the May 25 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that steroid injections may be equally effective (or ineffective) in restoring hearing in patients who experience this mysterious and traumatic condition.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA–Global DataConsultants (www.globaldataconsultants.com) predicts that the global market for hearing aids will reach $10 billion by 2017. That represents a 50% increase from its $6.6 billion estimate of the 2010 market. The company, whose complete report, Hearing Aid Devices: Global Pipeline Analysis, Opportunity Assessment and Market Forecasts to 2017, is available for purchase, expects that the rapid increase in

SARASOTA, FL– Sarasota and surrounding Manatee County are quickly becoming a hot bed of hearing loop systems, which improve accessibility for people with hearing loss. The latest facility in the area to install a loop system is Saratoga’s Whole Foods Market. Shoppers who wear hearing aids equipped with telecoils are invited to check out at cash register No. 1. The

TULSA, OK–Jacque Rogers Scholl, AuD, founder of the Children’s Hearing Aid Project, has announced that CHAP’s first fundraising event, “Tulsa Hears a Who,” raised more than $25,000 for the program. CHAP, a part of Total Source for Hearing Access, provides hearing aids to families who cannot afford them and are not covered by insurance. Scholl, who runs The Scholl Center

SEATTLE–Using bone-conduction hearing, human beings can perceive much higher sounds under water than they can on land using air conduction. So reported researchers during a May 24 presentation to the Acoustical Society of America meeting in Seattle. In their study, researchers from the Naval Submarine Medical Research Lab in Groton, CT, tested the range of hearing for submerged participants in

BETHESDA, MD – The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) has selected the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, to receive its 2011 National Access Award. The honor will be presented on June 19 during HLAA’s Convention at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. The Kennedy Center is being recognized for its extraordinary efforts to make

WEST PALM BEACH, FL—The fate of HearUSA, one of the nation’s largest and oldest networks of audiology practices, remained up in the air this week following the West Palm Beach-based company’s voluntary filing under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. Acting under section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, HearUSA announced on May 16 that it had named William Demant