NPR joins the audiology world in celebrating the life of Marion Downs
DENVER—As 2014 drew to a close, National Public Radio paid tribute to the late Dr. Marion Downs as someone whose life’s story deserved to be better known than it had been. On the December 28 broadcast of the program All Things Considered, the NPR reporter Becky Sullivan noted that until the past 20 years…
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AARP launches a Hearing Resource Center
WASHINGTON, DC—If more than 25 million of your members have a hearing loss, it really does makes sense to offer them information about the condition and how to address it. That’s just what AARP announced last week that it was doing with the launch of its Hearing Resource Center. The purpose of the online…
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Rolex award supports woman’s mission to bring newborn hearing screening to India
LONDON–Neeti Kailas, a young Indian woman on a mission to bring universal hearing screening of newborn babies to her country, is one of six visionaries under age 30 named to receive this year’s Rolex Awards for Enterprise. The winners, selected from 1800 applicants, were announced on June 24 by the Royal Society in London. Each will…
Read MoreFree telephone test tells consumers if they may need hearing help
BLOOMINGTON, IN—More than 30,000 Americans took a free over-the-phone hearing test in May, which was National Better Hearing Month. Because of the enthusiastic response, Communication Disorders Technology, Inc., a non-profit organization that waived the usual $8 charge for using its screening tool, decided to extend the free offer through the end of June. The National Hearing…
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Canada’s universal newborn hearing screening called a “resounding failure”
Canada has long had a progressive record on social issues. For example, for more than 30 years Canadians have had publicly funded universal health care. Yet the country is lagging behind most other prosperous nations, including the United States, in an important aspect of hearing care: newborn hearing screening. Despite growing criticism from the media…
Read MoreNew test lets people monitor their hearing health at home
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL–Etymotic Research has released a Home Hearing Test that enables people to monitor the hearing health of family members and friends without need to go to a professional office for testing. The hearing test, which was developed by audiologists, debuted at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and is now…
Read MoreNew phone app lets parents test their children for hearing loss at home
BIRMINGHAM, UK—For 69 pence (about $1.15), parents in Great Britain can obtain a phone app that can be used with a smartphone or an iPad to help them assess their children’s hearing without taking them to an audiology clinic. The Early Ears app was developed by British scientists at Aston University in Birmingham, who say…
Read MoreStudy finds obesity in adolescents is linked to heightened rate of hearing loss
NEW YORK—Anil K. Lalwani, MD, lead author of a new study showing an association between hearing loss and obesity among adolescents, recommends that obese adolescents “receive regular hearing screening so they can be treated appropriately to avoid cognitive and behavioral issues.” The study, published June 17 in The Laryngoscope, found that obesity in adolescents is…
Read MoreBetter Hearing Institute tells employers: It’s good business to address hearing loss
WASHINGTON, DC—The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is urging employers to include hearing health as part of their workplace wellness programs. Noting that June will be the fifth annual National Employee Wellness Month, the non-profit educational corporation points out that addressing hearing loss in the workplace is a smart business practice that benefits both employer and…
Read MoreOhio program provides free hearing aids for babies
CINCINNATI—For nearly a decade, Ohio has screened all newborn babies for hearing loss. As a result, twice as many infants are having their hearing impairments identified soon after birth as was the case pre-universal screening. That has provided audiologists with an opportunity to address hearing losses very early, at a time when hearing aids or…
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