Wednesday, April 17, 2013

If You Have a Child with Hearing Loss This E-book Might Help


In her book Stephanie Berry from Independent Speech, an online speech therapy private practice, states that children learn to communicate through their hearing. They begin by imitating the sounds they hear around them, if they do not hear themthey cannot learn them. However, many children have a hearing problem and their parents do not realize it! There is a large range of hearing problems that can be experienced by children. While some are quite obvious others may go undetected for several years. At this time, children with hearing loss are an underidentified and thus underserved population.
Photo credit: ronnieb from morguefile.com 

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Here's a list of drugs that could Harm Your Hearing

Photo credit: dhester from morguefile.com
It is known that some drugs are potentially harmful to your hearing. (See a previous article on that topic http://hearing-loss-news.blogspot.fr/2012/08/some-antibiotics-are-bad-for-your-inner.html). Some of these drugs are ototoxic.
Ototoxicity is damage to the ear (oto-), specifically the cochlea or auditory nerve and sometimes the vestibular system, by a toxin. It is commonly medication-induced; ototoxic drugs include antibiotics such as the aminoglycoside gentamicin, loop diuretics such as furosemide, and platinum-based chemotherapy agents such as cisplatin. A number of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) have also been shown to be ototoxic. This can result in sensorineural hearing loss, dysequilibrium, or both. Either may be reversible and temporary, or irreversible and permanent.
 (Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ototoxicity)

Thursday, February 14, 2013

THIS PRESENTATION WILL EXPLAIN ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEARING LOSS AND HEARING AIDS

From statistics about hearing loss to a description of the inner ear to hearing loss symptoms to hearing aids, this presentation covers everything you need to know in the subject.



Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Hearing Loss and Dementia


I have already written about the so far poorly understood link between hearing loss and dementia.
In the last year or so more articles have appeared in reliable health journals and newspapers about this. Unfortunately, we still don't know why and the connection between these two conditions is still there. The New York Times  published an article adapted from the book Shouting Won’t Help: Why I — and 50 Million Other Americans — Can’t Hear You,”  by Katherine Bouton.
A salient point in this article is the fact that it's not clear whether hearing aids can help stop this deterioration.


Monday, January 14, 2013

Hooray!! Hearing loss partially reversed!


A drug, LY41175, allows other cells in the inner ear to change into hair cells, which are essential, soundtransmitting cells in the inner ear. Normally, these cells are inhibited from making the switch. LY41175 releases that inhibition by interfering with the activity of a protein called Notch.

To read the original study go to :  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627312009531

A very clear presentation on Hearing Loss

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Some antibiotics are bad for your inner ear cells, but new research could change that

Article by the University of Michigan Health System
This story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Michigan Health System. (June 11, 2012) 

The world needs new antibiotics to overcome the ever increasing resistance of disease-causing bacteria -- but it doesn't need the side effect that comes with some of the most powerful ones now available: hearing loss. Today, researchers report they have developed a new approach to designing antibiotics that kill even "superbugs" but spare the delicate sensory cells of the inner ear.