New Research on Cochlear Hair Cell Development May Offer Clues for Future Hearing Loss Treatment
PORTLAND, OREGON — New research reveals a key insight into the development of cochlear hair cell bundles, found within the inner ear. Hair bundles are precisely arranged cellular structures deep within the spiral cavity of the inner ear. Together, they convert vibrational energy into electrical signals in the brain that translate into the sensation of…
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American Girl Debuts 2020 Girl of the Year; First Doll With Hearing Loss
MIDDLETON, WISCONSIN — American Girl, the inspiring world of dolls, content and experiences, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT), unveiled today its 2020 Girl of the Year™, Joss Kendrick.™ According to the announcement, Joss — a fierce athlete born with hearing loss and a passion for surfing and competitive cheer — joins American Girl’s lineup…
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Top Hearing News Stories of 2019
2019 proved to be a busy year in hearing healthcare. Industry developments, advances in research, innovative and disruptive technologies were among several of this year’s list of ‘most read’ stories of the year at Hearing News Watch. Below we highlight the Top 10 Most Read stories of 2019. Top 10 Hearing News Stories of…
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When Normal Hearing in Not Really Normal: New Research Provides Insights
by Brian Taylor, Editor-at-Large Two recent scientific reports underscore the need for exquisite high frequency hearing and the value of measuring it clinically. As most clinicians’ attest, there is a substantial group of patients that present to the clinic with complaints of an inability to understand speech in the presence of background who nevertheless have…
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New Book: Life After Deaf
On a spring night in 2010, Noel Holston, a storyteller, songwriter and Pulitzer-nominated journalist, went to bed with reasonably intact hearing. By dawn, it was gone, thus beginning a years-long process of hearing-restoration that included diagnostic dead ends, health-insurance hassles, a failed cochlear-implant surgery, and a second surgery that finally worked. He negotiated the ordeal…
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Akouos Discloses Lead Program, AK-OTOF, a Potential Gene Therapy Treatment for Sensorineural Hearing Loss
BOSTON, MASS. – Akouos, a precision genetic medicine company developing gene therapies to restore and preserve hearing, today disclosed its lead program, AK-OTOF, a gene therapy focused on restoring hearing in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss due to mutations in the otoferlin (OTOF) gene. Normal otoferlin function enables the sensory cells of the ear (hair…
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New Drug Under Development to Prevent Age-Related Hearing Loss
TAMPA, FLORIDA — The first ever medication to treat age-related hearing loss could potentially receive FDA approval through a comprehensive study being conducted at the University of South Florida. Robert Frisina, PhD, chair of the USF Medical Engineering Department and director of the USF Global Center for Hearing and Speech Research, and his team were…
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Hearing Loss in Middle Age Doubles Risk of Dementia: Study
Hearing loss in middle age was found to be associated with higher odds of cognitive decline and dementia later in life, according to a large study conducted in Taiwan published in JAMA Network Open on July 31st. Using data from more than 16,000 men and women, researchers found that a new diagnosis of hearing loss…
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New Study Examines Downstream Consequences of Hearing Loss in Older Adults
It is well-founded that age-related hearing loss is not a benign condition. Clinicians intuitively know this because they encounter older adults, nearly every day in their practice, who experience a gradual decline in social engagement, among several other downstream consequences, that result from hearing loss. A recent study provides additional insight on this common clinical…
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Researchers Find Proteins That May Hold Key to Restoring Inner Ear Hair Cells
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND — Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, report that they have identified a pair of proteins that precisely control when hair cells (sound detecting cells) are born in the mammalian inner ear. The proteins, described in a report published June 12 in eLife, may hold a key to future therapies to restore hearing in…
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