AudiologyOnline Takes You Around the Web in 60 Seconds! - Vol. 5, No. 3

AudiologyOnline uses the latest in internet scanning and retrieval technology to find hearing health-related news and web sites from around the world. This information is then compiled and summarized by our President & Editor-in-Chief, Paul Dybala, Ph.D., and Associate Editor, Kristi Albers, M.A., so that you can take a virtual trip around the "hearing health world wide web" in 60 seconds!

This edition of "Around the Web" (ATW) includes: meet nurse iPhone, new LipReader novel, trend in beautiful prosthetics, safe ear scratchers and many more.

If you have an item to add to this list, please send it to the Editor via the Contact Us section of the web site.

ENT Today: The Latest in Hearing Aid Technology - 03/24/2009
entoday.com
An article in ENT Today it is stated that a collaboration between ENTs and audiologists is in the best interests of the patient and audiologists are the experts in hearing aids and counseling.

Woman translates for the hearing impaired - 03/23/2009
sfgate.com
Let's say a deaf person gets selected for jury duty. Maybe they want to dispute a traffic ticket. Maybe they're on trial. Or summoned as a witness. That's where Anna Mindess, a courtroom interpreter for the deaf, comes in. Since 1991,Mindess, 55,has interpreted in hundreds of courtroom situations.

Impaired prospect can hear call of big leagues - 03/23/2009
idahostatesman.com
yson Gillies has come a long way since he was the skinny 6-year-old in Vancouver, B.C., who flushed his hearing aids down the toilet.

Back then, he was humiliated when other children noticed them. Today, he realizes he can't get by without them - so between every inning, he takes them out, wipes the sweat from his ears and puts them both back in place, one in each ear.

Brotherly love inspired hearing - 03/23/2009
north-west-news.whereilive.com
When identical twins, Ashley and Daniel Chan of Albany Creek started school for the first time this year there was only one way to tell them apart. Six-year-old Daniel was the one with the hearing aids.

Speaking to someone who is hearing impaired - 03/23/2009
khsltv.com
If you know someone who's hearing impaired, there are several strategies you can employ to make communicating easier for both of you.

Meet Nurse iPhone - 03/23/2009
pcmag.com
New iPhone due out this summer will have special apps for persons with hearing loss - they will have the option to visually see the person they want to call, allowing sign language and lip reading.

First MountainEAR 5K Race - 03/22/2009
wboy.com
Hats off to The West Virginia University Chapter of the Student Academy of Audiology which organized a 5K race that will help people in rural West Virginia and around the community who can't afford hearing aids or services in their hearing clinics as well as the speech clinic

Ouch, shopping can hurt your ears - 03/22/2009
examiner.com
One mom wonders - do I need to carry earplugs while shopping with my daughters? Her view on the loud music playing at Ambercrobmie and Fitch...

Former Sea Dog only one paying a price - 03/22/2009
pressherald.mainetoday.com
For one semi-professional baseball player, trying to protect his teammate caused some serious damage. John Nathan was hit in the head with a baseball bat. H suffers from continual headaches, inner-ear damage, including the loss of most of the hearing in his right ear, and vestibular dysfunction.

Nicolas Cage's Movie: Knowing - 03/20/2009
latimes.com
The character who is Nicolas Cage's son wears a hearing aid - not because he is deaf, but because sounds sometimes get scrambled (huh?), but it lets him communicate with the scary Goths.

Sounds a little out there...have our patients not been telling us about the Goths?

Eye, ear doctors help protect service members heading to the battlefield - 03/20/2009
chicagotribune.com
Chicago Audiologist, Dr. Ronna Fisher, is featured in this article for her generous donations to troops deploying. Hats off to her!

Emotions of Music Touch Universal Chord - 03/19/2009
health.usnews.com
"We know that our auditory system responds in distinctive ways to consonant and dissonant sounds, even when we're not actively listening to them," said Nina Kraus, Hugh Knowles professor of communication sciences, neurobiology, physiology and otolaryngology at Northwestern University in Chicago. "It's fascinating how our sensory systems have evolved to respond effectively to sounds that signal what's important, such as emotional meaning."

Touch helps make the connection between sight and hearing - 03/19/2009
physorg.com
The sense of touch allows us to make a better connection between sight and hearing and therefore helps adults to learn to read.

Peter Alexander on his sister, who is losing both her sight and hearing - 03/19/2009
msnbc.msn.com
NBC's Peter Alexander's sister suffers from Usher's Syndrome and they are bringing awareness to the syndrome. Powerful and inspiring story.

Toning down the ring - 03/19/2009
timesfreepress.com
New therapies emerge for tinnitus sufferers.

Hearing Protection - Listen Up! - 03/18/2009
motorcyclistonline.com
It is that time of year again where motorcycles will begin rumbling down the road. One motorcycle publication urges riders to wear ear protection.

Hearing Could Hold Key to Unlocking Schizophrenia Mystery - 03/17/2009
earthtimes.org
Measuring brain waves in response to hearing a variety of tones appears to be a useful way to begin understanding the underlying genetic abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, says a study headed by researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital.

Tinnitus research is limited, but problem is gaining attention - 03/17/2009
miamiherald.com
Capt. Nathan Green remembers the alarm sounding that day last April in Baghdad's Green Zone. He remembers running, and then the loud explosion of the rocket hitting 30 feet behind him. He was knocked unconscious and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

He now hears the high-pitched whine and static buzz of an AM radio. All the time.

Encourage employees to take home earplugs to prevent hearing loss claims - 03/16/2009
riskandinsurance.com
"Noise hazards are not exclusive to the workplace, but compensation claims for noise-induced hearing loss often are," said Theresa Y. Schulz, hearing conservation manager for Howard Leight, a manufacturer of hearing protection devices.

Health Tip: Have Your Child's Hearing Checked - When to See an Audiologist - 03/16/2009
health.usnews.com
US News & World Report: Children need regular hearing tests to help identify any hearing problems before they worsen.

Aetna lets more patients see what doctors are being paid - 03/16/2009
ama-assn.org
Aetna has expanded an online tool that allows members in 57 markets across the country to see how much the company has agreed to pay specific physicians for care.

The online tool now lets members see prices for network doctors in more markets in Rhode Island, upstate New York and New Jersey. It also lists negotiated prices for care delivered by nonphysician health professionals, including chiropractors, audiologists, optometrists and podiatrists.

New Book Offers "A Ray of Hope" For Hearing Loss Challenges - 03/16/2009
healthyhearing.com
Living with profound hearing loss is an enormous challenge, but it is one Shanna Groves has learned to confront and tackle with admirable strength and courage ever since she was diagnosed with progressive hearing loss at 27.

Her soon-to-be-released novel, Lip Reader, will undoubtedly inspire and encourage an estimated 31 million Americans of all ages who struggle with various degrees of hearing loss, and will debunk many popular myths about this impairment.

A home redone is a burden eased - 03/15/2009
delawareonline.com
Deaf and unsure on her feet due to Meniere's Disease, Meg MacDonald had her house redesigned accordingly.

A talk with Graham Pullin: Why prosthetics should be beautiful - 03/15/2009
boston.com
For designer and researcher Graham Pullin, design has met disability. Pullin feels for too long the medical and design worlds have been strangers.Hearing aids are discussed and why they should be fashionable. Also, did you know the designer of the iPod used to design hearing aids?

Shaking Pompoms for the Grandfather of Modern Cheerleading - 03/14/2009
nytimes.com
Lawrence Herkimer recently had his hearing tested. His wife thought it was long overdue. Herkimer is well known because he is known to have invented cheerleading for sports.

Listen up: The age of tricked out hearing aids is here - 03/14/2009
theglobeandmail.com
It's a typical weekday morning and you're going through your daily wardrobe checklist before leaving the house. If you're a guy, you may be pondering whether your tie, shirt and suit are in sync. If you're a woman, you're probably coordinating the bag, shoes and jewelery.

And if you're one of the estimated 3.5 million Canadians affected by hearing loss, you may also be checking out your hearing aid - will it be the leopard print cover or the basic black?

School For The Deaf Funding Restored - 03/13/2009
keloland.com
One of the items added back to the budget is the South Dakota School for the Deaf. Under the latest plan, it'll remain open.

In Person: Mickey Rizzi - 03/13/2009
wqow.com
An inspiring woman who after dealing with hearing loss for 53 years decided to get a CI. She was diagnosed with macular degeneration. Since reading lips was her ears - she knew a CI was the way to go.

What can you do to prevent a fall? - 03/13/2009
independentfreepress.com
An overview of the three systems that affect our balance. A hearing evaluation is encouraged.

William Shatner : Star Trek's William Shatner once contemplated suicide over tinnitus trouble - 03/13/2009
entertainmentandshowbiz.com
For all you Treksters: one of your favorites once suffered from tinnitus - to the degree he thought about committing suicide.

I'm all ears, but age is a powerful sound barrier - 03/12/2009
bakersfield.com
My grandmother, God rest her, was hard-of-hearing, which is the adjective we use when we want to convey politely that someone can't hear a blessed thing.

Brain Scans Shed Light on Dyslexia - 03/12/2009
health.usnews.com
New brain scans reveal more about how the minds of people with dyslexia work. The key problem seems to be a mismatch between seeing the letter and connecting it to the sound it represents or vice-versa, said researchers from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands.

UH speech pathology program faces budget cut - 03/12/2009
kpua.ne
The University of Hawaii's speech pathology and audiology program has lost funding from the state Department of Education.

Speech pathology program at UH loses DOE funding - 03/12/2009
starbulletin.com
Although recently receiving 5-year accreditation, U of Hawaii may lose the speech and audiology department.

iPOD DANGER - 03/11/2009
sjcctimes.com
Now that iPods are accessible in nearly every price range, people of all ages can be seen equipped with these music players. What a lot of people don't know is that the stock headphones that come with the iPod could cause permanent hearing loss.

Hearing Regeneration - 03/11/2009
counton2.com
Did you know mice are born deaf? And for the first two weeks after birth, ear cells in mouse babies have the ability to divide and differentiate into hair cells. After that time, the hair cells stop dividing. Scientists hope to find clues that tell them how the hair cells are able to regenerate early on and then why they lose that ability about two weeks after birth.

Want to Rewire Your Brain? Study Music - 03/11/2009
abcnews.go.com
"We are measuring what the nervous system has become, based on an individual's experience with sound," Nina Kraus, director of the university's groundbreaking Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory.

Several hunting gadgets are right on target - 03/11/2009
dallasnews.com
Here's another shooting/hunting aid that keeps improving with each successive generation: hearing enhancement and protection. SportEars are hearing aids designed for sportsmen. They can be adjusted to magnify the sound of a buck walking through the leaves or a distant turkey's gobbles. Loud noises, like gun blasts, are suppressed before they can damage your hearing.

Sparks said the latest digital versions of SportEar can be molded to fit individual ear canals, then fine-tuned to make up for specific hearing loss.

The Buzz That Veterans Hear - 03/10/2009
washingtonpost.com
Capt. Nathan Green remembers the alarm sounding that day last April in Baghdad's Green Zone. He remembers running, and then the loud explosion of the rocket hitting 30 feet behind him. He was knocked unconscious, suffered a traumatic brain injury and now hears the high-pitched whine and static buzz of an AM radio.

Dispute over bequest for Hearing Dogs program - 03/08/2009
sfgate.com
Two programs that train dogs to assist the hearing impaired are fighting for a $500,000 bequest left to the former Hearing Dogs for the Deaf program at the San Francisco Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, claiming they are the successors of the program that closed last year.

Progressive hearing loss fails to silence church's pianist Sonja Hannon - 03/07/2009
newsok.com
Sonja Hannon doesn't hear musical chords when she plays melodies on the piano. Instead, Hannon says she hears the Lord whispering His love for her.The pianist and organist has come to rely on her lifelong love of music. That passion helped her find her way when she began losing her hearing.

Multicore processor powers hearing aid - 03/06/2009
eetimes.com
A technology licensing company is in the final design stages of a novel hearing aid it says could be sold over the counter for as little as $100. The low cost but powerful device is based on the company's homegrown multicore processor and audio algorithms. They do not plan to seek FDA approval for the device.

Girls' Organization Helps Local Boy Get Hearing Aid - 03/06/2009
ktvn.com
Nationally, Job's Daughters is dedicated to supporting the Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment Fun or HIKE. "Over the 24 years that HIKE has been in existence, the girls have given out over $3 million," says past Supreme Guardian Jeannine Hinman.

How We Hear - 03/06/2009
wsoctv.com
Overview of hearing loss and treatments are provided.

Now Hear This: Brain Fitness Exercises Improve Listening - 03/05/2009
tradingmarkets.com
Software that claims to enhahnce auditory processing skills.

Sounds of silence become the sounds of music - through hearing aids - 03/05/2009
localtechwire.com
The author, who has profound hearing loss, describes her ability to hear new things with her new hearing aids: "...new hearing aids have restored a dimension to my life that I had not realized I had lost. Technology can be wonderful."

Slowing hearing loss through gene therapy - 03/04/2009
wkowtv.com
According to the National Institutes of Health, gene therapy has been successful in improving hearing in deaf animals. Time will tell if it will work in humans.

Noise From Hearing Aid Causes Dog To Attack - 03/03/2009
wftv.com
So humans are not the only ones you despise hearing aid feedback? Apparently dogs do too! Tragic story...

Tinnitus: A Ringing in the Ears - 03/03/2009
myfoxny.com
News station provides overview of tinnitus and treatments.

Much louder world harms our hearing - 03/02/2009
theolympian.com
So much noise. Rock concerts. Traffic. IPods. Always something in your ear. Until nature demands silence.

"We don't know what's going to happen to the kids with plug-ins in their ears," says audiologist Janell Reid. "There's a huge concern about stimulating the ears directly for a long time.

Families seek hearing aid donations for needy kids - 03/02/2009
sltrib.com
The state's last resort for low-income children with hearing loss is asking Utahns to donate their used hearing aids.

Virginia hearing aid sales have grown - 03/01/2009
roanoke.com
As sales of hearing aids dipped throughout much of the nation in 2008,the opposite happened in Virginia.

Virginia sales grew 5.5 percent to about 46,000 units, according to Hearing Industries Association, which represents hearing aid manufacturers.

Victims of the fashion industry's prejudice - 02/28/2009
independent.co.uk
It is five years since Kellie Moody was talent-spotted at London Fashion Week. A career on the catwalk beckoned. But the work has failed to materialize. Could it have anything to do with the fact that she is deaf?

Recently she landed a permanent modeling contract with Siemens Hearing Instruments, but even she admits it would be a major triumph to model clothes rather than hearing aids.

Don't Bring The Noise - 02/27/2009
theranger.org
Young people may be oblivious to hearing damage.

You should hear what you are missing? - 02/25/2009
counton2.com
Do you know someone older than 70? There is a good chance that person is losing his hearing.

Safe Ear Scratcher? - 02/24/2009
earscratcher.com
Not sure if there is such a thing but check out this "ear scratching" product, which currently is not available in the US. To be safe, it would need to be available in variable lengths.

Colo. post helps stem GIs' hearing loss - 02/22/2009
azstarnet.com
Staff Sgt. Chris Mountjoy couldn't hear for three days after the mortar round screamed into his camp and exploded 15 feet away. His hearing came back, but only partially. ally.
Now, more than two years later, Mountjoy, who loved the infantry, spends his days behind a desk at the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Fort Carson, where he was reassigned because of his hearing loss and a traumatic brain injury from the blast.

With MP3 Player On, Teen Didn't Hear Train - 02/22/2009
npr.org
Noise-induced hearing loss not the only risk from listening to iPod too loud.

Collier, Naples governments sound off on what constitutes noise - 02/21/2009
naplesnews.com
Exactly what is an acceptable level of noise?

From silence to sound - 02/21/2009
dailybreeze.com
Surgery opens a new world for Miles Ganalon, born without ear canals or eardrums.

Settlement Means Those With Hearing Loss Will See Announcements on Ferries - 02/20/2009
kitsapsun.com
Announcements aboard Washington State Ferries vessels and in its terminals will soon take text form, following a settlement Friday between the system and a Bainbridge Island nonprofit group.

Why Rechargeable Batteries Are Smarter - 02/19/2009
thedailygreen.com
Yearly, Americans buy approximately three billion batteries to juice-up their cell phones, computers, radios, toys, watches, hearing aids...you name it. At an average length of two inches, strung end to end, those "disposable" energy sources would be 94,700 miles long nough to circle the equator almost four times!

Iraqi boy receives positive feedback - 02/17/2009
abclocal.go.com
For 3-year-old Mustafa Ghazwan, the thrill of being seven floors up at UCSF is all about what he can see. But in a few minutes, that will change to what he can hear. Audiologist Colleen Polite is preparing to activate an earpiece that will feed audio into one of his damaged ears, for the first time since the blast from a U.S. missile knocked out his hearing.