News Roundup for January 9: A Veritable Dog’s Breakfast of Stories from Around the Profession and the Industry.
New Study Examines Barriers to Hearing Care Services Among Medicare Population In the January 2019 issue of Health Affairs, a peer-reviewed health policy journal, researchers at Johns Hopkins University’s Cochlear Center for Hearing Loss and Public Health shed light on the accessibility of hearing care services in the Medicare-eligible population. Using 2013 survey data…
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Spiral Therapuetics Receives $3.7M Investment to Advance Treatment of Hearing Loss and Inner Ear Disorders
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA — According to a news report out this week, early-stage pharmaceutical company Spiral Therapeutics has received a $3.7 million investment towards the development of treatments for hearing loss and other inner ear related disorders. The Series A funding round was led by Camden Partners Nexus, a biomedical-focused venture fund, and Savoir Capital. Spiral Therapeutics’ initial…
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AG Bell Global Gala Seeks to Raise Awareness for Hearing Loss
WASHINGTON, DC – The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) welcomes some of Washington’s top business leaders, diplomats and special guests to gather at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium for its 2018 Global Gala. AG Bell’s Gala will raise awareness about hearing loss worldwide as well as honor…
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New Research Uncovers Function of Inner Ear Involved in Speech Processing
SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY – Research recently published in Science Communications, by an international team of researchers from Oticon and Interacoustics, has revealed a previously undiscovered function in the inner ear that detects the acoustic details in speech before it is converted into information for the brain. The findings may help professionals learn more about individual hearing…
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HHTM Hearing News Round-up: Notable Stories This Week
Before you deep fry that turkey or candy those yams, take a few minutes to catch up on some noteworthy news items of professional interest. New Study Suggests Sparse Real-World Differences Between Basic and Premium Technology A new peer reviewed study, published-ahead-of-print at Ear and Hearing suggests older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss…
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New Gene Discovery Could Lead to Hearing Loss Prevention Drug
According to a recent report in an October issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, a team of UC San Francisco researchers have discovered a gene that plays an essential role in noise-induced deafness. By administering an experimental chemical — identified in a separate UCSF lab in 2013 — that acts on the pathway linking…
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Longitudinal Study Shows Relationship Between Cognition, Untreated Hearing Loss and Social Isolation
Readers may recall a July 2017 Lancet study which estimated 35% of the risk factors associated with dementia was modifiable, and that the most prominent modifiable risk factor was hearing loss, which contributed 9% toward the acceleration or possible onset of dementia. A study, published in JAMA Otolaryngology last week, builds on this eye-opening data.…
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Study Points to Possible New Therapy Approach for Hearing Loss Treatment
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK — In a new study published this week in the European Journal of Neuroscience, scientists have been able to regrow the sensory hair cells found in the cochlea. The research may help pave the way for new approaches to restoring lost hearing. Research conducted in the lab of Patricia White, Ph.D., lead author of…
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Decibel Therapeutics Obtains Exclusive License to Develop and Commercialize ORC-13661 from Oricula Therapeutics
BOSTON & SEATTLE — Boston-based biotech firm, Decibel Therapeutics, announced this week that it has obtained “an exclusive, worldwide license to the development and commercialization of ORC-13661” from Oricula Therapeutics for the prevention of hearing loss and balance disorders due to the use of aminoglycoside antibiotics. As part of the agreement with Decibel, Oricula will…
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Hospital Re-admission Rates High in Older Adults with Hearing Loss
A recent study, to be published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, sheds some light on the issue of hospital re-admissions and the impact hearing loss might have on them. Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), the researchers from New York University identified patients aged 65 and over who said that they…
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