Massachusetts Hearing Society Community Blog

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have conducted a study that has determined the role that a critical protein plays in the development of hair cells. These hair cells are vital for hearing. Some of these cells amplify sounds that come into the ear, and others transform sound waves into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Ronna Hertzano, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at UMSOM and Maggie Matern, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, demonstrated that the protein, called GFI1, may be critical for determining whether an embryonic hair cell matures ...
Wearing masks is making it harder on people who have difficulty hearing. A recent survey by the Hearing Loss Association of America found that 95% of respondents with hearing loss say masks and facial coverings have created communication barriers since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Masks make it harder to communicate in multiple ways. It muffles sound, making it difficult to understand speech and some higher-pitched voices. Masks also take away a person’s ability to read lips and see facial expressions, both of which help people better understand what is being communicated. This is true for everyone, but especially for those with hearing loss. As government ...
Tinnitus, one of the world's most common hearing conditions, is known to impact a person's hearing and well-being, but can it also affect a person's cognitive performance? Many people with tinnitus think it can, based on various reports of concentration problems due to tinnitus. 1 Researchers may think it can too, with published studies that found poorer cognitive performance in people with tinnitus than in those without tinnitus. 2,3 Explanations for how tinnitus could affect cognition include cognitive load hypotheses where the increased effort of hearing and trying to suppress the tinnitus leaves fewer cognitive resources to complete a task at hand. ...
Researchers at the Creighton University School of Medicine have identified a drug that can protect against hearing loss in mice, and they think it can work in humans, too. The best part: It’s a drug already on the market. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, 1 are a potential breakthrough for the approximately 466 million people worldwide with disabling hearing loss.2 They focus on the use of a chemotherapy drug called Tafinlar (dabrafenib). “We’re very excited about our initial results so far,” lead study author Matthew Ingersoll, PhD, a Creighton postdoctoral fellow, tells Verywell. “Obviously, these are in mice. However, since dabrafenib ...
Hearing loss and diabetes are major public health problems, with Latinos at higher risk than other demographic groups. In a new study published December 17, 2020 in the online issue of JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery , researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine with colleagues elsewhere, report that hearing loss and high blood sugar are associated with poor cognitive performance among middle-aged and older Latinos. Diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias. More recently, hearing loss has also been linked to increased risk for AD. However, few studies have investigated the combined relationships ...
The purpose of this case study is to support best practices in treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), particularly the importance of immediate audiological evaluation and treatment of suspected SSNH to ensure an optimal outcome. SSNHL is most commonly defined as a hearing loss of 30 dB or greater at three consecutive frequencies that occur within 72 hours. 1 SSNHL can develop at any age, but it most commonly occurs in patients aged 65 and older. 2 In the United States, 2 it is estimated to affect 27 in every 100,000 people. Those with this condition often discover their hearing loss upon waking up in the morning, after hearing a loud popping ...
Scientists have discovered a simple method of reformulating gentamicin, a commonly used and highly effective antibiotic, that could reduce the risk it poses of causing deafness. A Stanford Medicine-led study has found that a subtype of popular antibiotic could pose a smaller risk of hearing loss yet still be powerful at fighting off bacterial infections. Gentamicin is used in U.S. hospitals to treat a variety of bacterial infections, including infections in newborns and in other susceptible patients, such as those with cystic fibrosis. It’s a popular drug in developing countries because it is highly effective and inexpensive. Yet researchers estimate that ...
Delivering healthy genetic material into the inner ear cells of mice with a genetic defect that causes deafness enables the cells to function normally, according to a new study from Tel Aviv University (TAU). The novel treatment prevented the gradual deterioration of hearing in these mice. It could lead to a breakthrough in treating children born with various mutations that eventually cause deafness The study, led by Prof. Karen Avraham of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry at TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience, was published in EMBO Molecular Medicine on December 22. Deafness is the most common ...
Some experiences in life are hard to describe, but that doesn't make them any less real. Around the world, up to 20 percent of people experience a chronic phantom ringing or buzzing in their ears, known as tinnitus. The sounds - often high-pitched - are not connected to any known acoustic stimuli, and today, diagnosis depends solely on subjective experiences relayed by patients. Now, scientists in Australia think they have devised a method to 'see' the perception of tinnitus in the brain. It could be the first objective clinical tool for measuring someone's tinnitus, and a step towards finding ways to treat this widespread and incurable condition. In recent ...
Untreated hearing loss can give rise to a number of problems, including depression and anxiety. The first step to addressing those concerns is as simple as taking a hearing test. Reduced hearing loss means reduced sensory input, or the feeling that the walls are closing in on a person. This leads to symptoms that can mirror certain cognitive disorders, such as dementia. People who have hearing loss can fail to respond, or fail to respond in the appropriate way or in a timely fashion. Brenda Haugen, who owns AudioCare Hearing Center in Grand Forks, says people can misconstrue those symptoms in their older relatives. “You have a lot of people who are ...
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