Wayne's World

by Eugene R. Worth, MD Introduction by Wayne Staab, Editor I find it amazing to come into contact with the most interesting persons in the most unusual places.  This was the case with Gene Worth, who was just another face in the softball league that I play in.  However, during casual conversations, I found out that he had a very

  “Do Not Let the otoblock come in contact with the eardrum.”  Instructions such as this to individuals taking ear impressions has been the topic of post 1 and 2 providing evidence busting the ear impression otoblock myth suggesting such placement.   Otoblock to Protect the Eardrum?   The purported purpose is to protect the eardrum/tympanic membrane (TM), as so

In Part 3 of this series on rational tinnitus drug treatment, I will review the advantages and limitations of using animal models to understand this seemingly simple, yet intractable disorder.  Part 1 provided information about control with medication and the impact of tinnitus on individuals. Part 2 detailed the difficulties associated with the desire to treat tinnitus with a pill.

This post is a continuation of Part 1 by Dr. Carol Bauer which introduced the concept of Rational Drug Treatment for Tinnitus – The Gabapentin Story, or Why Aren’t the Pills Working?  An example of following the need for a proper rationale, and evidence supporting tinnitus drug treatment, using the drug gabapentin as an example, is the topic of Part

Hearing Health and Technology Matters is honored to present a three-part series on tinnitus drug treatment by Dr. Carol Bauer, a recognized international authority on tinnitus. Dr. Bauer is Professor and Chair of the Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois. Her areas of interest and expertise relate to hearing loss, balance

Myth.  “The ear impression otoblock stops the ear impression material from going too far into the ear canal, and protects the eardrum by not allowing it to come into contact with the eardrum.” This post continues as background to show that the above statement is a myth, and a more realistic approach should be taken to the placement of the

Ear Impression Block Placement – The Otoblock Myth Busted by Reality   Opening Salvo   Most documents that instruct individuals on how to take ear impressions provide some misleading information, especially when describing the purpose and placement of the otoblock/block/dam/otostop.  This series of posts is intended to show how the otoblok myth is busted by reality.  Let’s look at some

The Hear-Wear Patents   What This Series of RIC Patents Provides to the Hearing Aid Industry is a True Hearing Aid Disruption.   Background   Hearing aid development has traditionally been driven by three factors: (1) cosmetics; (2) technology and miniaturization; and (3) packaging, not necessarily concurrently. Patients have always sought hearing aids that were cosmetically appealing, meaning that they were as

The RIC (Receiver-in-Canal) Hearing Aid In 2001, two patented hearing aid designs were filed under the “Hear-Wear” name by owners of SeboTek Hearing Systems.  The result is that these, and subsequent patents by them, changed the hearing aid industry worldwide in ways never imagined.  The hearing aid disruption was based on the SeboTek PAC™ (Post-Auricular-Canal) hearing aid which was presented at

Very Low Viscosity – From Wayne’s Archives This is another post for hearing archives – information unpublished, but in need of being recorded somewhere as part of the hearing discipline.  In this post is information related to early low viscosity ear impression material.The ear impression material used to make ear impressions is generally of lower viscosity than used in the past.  In