News Archive
 

World Audiology News - archive of stories for 2005

These stories were previously featured in the first page of the News Section in this website.

Please note: with passage of time some of these stories may no longer be available to view on their original websites of publication.

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year: 2005

Dec 2005

Study Advances Call for Early Implants in Children Born Deaf in order to Reverse Deafness
New research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (USA) has shown the that cochlear implants in very young animals allow normal nerve fibers that transmit sound to be forged leading to the restoration of hearing, by reversing or preventing damage to the brain’s auditory system. These findings, which related to congenitally deaf cats, were published in Science Online this month (2.12.05). Dr David Ryugo, the lead investigator in the study stated, "What we think this study tells parents of deaf children is that if cochlear implants are being considered, the earlier they’re done the better.” Research has show implants are up to 80 percent successful in restoring hearing in young children born deaf, but rarely effective when implanted in congenitally deaf adults. The Johns Hopkins team, building on years of experience with cochlear implants in children and adults, now has more evidence to support their recommendation that the devices be installed by age 2, or earlier. Between ages 1 and 2, children’s skulls are almost fully grown, so minimizing complications from brain surgery and greatly reducing the risk that the electrical wiring will loosen or pull away from their attachments under the scalp. - Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions News Release, USA Research, 1^st December 2005 (also reviewed in Health Day News 1.12.05)

Specialised Neurons Allow the Brain to Focus on Novel Sounds
A team of Spanish and American neuroscientists has discovered neurons in the mammalian brainstem that focus exclusively on new, novel sounds, helping humans and other animals to ignore ongoing, predictable sounds. These 'novelty detector neurons' quickly stop firing if a sound or sound pattern is repeated, but will briefly resume firing whenever some aspect of the sound changes. The neurons can detect changes in the pitch, loudness or duration of a single sound and can even detect changes in the pattern of a complex series of sounds. It is thought that the 'novelty detector neurons' seem to act as gatekeepers, preventing information about unimportant sounds from reaching the cortex, thus allowing people to ignore sounds that do not require attention. This work was carried out by Ellen Covey and her colleagues (University of Washington, USA) in collaboration with Dr Manuel Malmierca and David Perez-Gonzalez (from the University of Salamanca, Spain). The research was done by studying neurons in the brains of rats, but Ellen Covey has said that similar neurons are almost certainly present in the human brain since they seem to be found in all vertebrates. She states that these neurons provide a unique model that can be used in the future to explore some of the neural mechanisms underlying memory, prediction and selective attention. These findings are due to be reported in the early December 2005 issue of the European Journal of Neuroscience. - University of Washington News, USA and Spanish Research, 1^st December 2005

November 2005

Compulsory CPD for UK Audiologists to be Introduced
An area currently being discussed in the forum is the mandatory continued professional development (CPD) which will soon be introduced for all UK audiologists working in the public sector. What do you think about this? Do you think this is a good idea? Do you have any apprehensions? You can have your say about this topic in the forum. - aud.org.uk, 30^th November 2005 (note: forum-membership / registration is not required to take part in the discussion of this topic - editorial)

President of the BSHAA wins Britain's Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Karen Finch, who is president of the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists, has just won the British Entrepreneur of the Year award. Mrs Finch started her business seven years ago by re-mortgaging her house. She now has hearing care centres across Suffolk (UK) which provide a one-stop-shop for people with hearing difficulties. - BBC News, Suffolk, UK, 25^th November 2005

Registration No longer Required for the Prospective Audiology Student Forum
The Prospective Audiology Student forum has been re-designated as an 'open forum'. This means that forum registration is no longer required to use it. So if you are thinking of a career in audiology please go ahead and use this resource. More information about the Audiology Student forums can be found here. - aud.org.uk, 15^th November 2005

Pin Back Your Ears, Otoplasty is the Latest Craze in Plastic Surgery
Figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), which are due to be released this week, show that the number of otoplasties (ear-pinning operations) has increased dramatically over the past year. The surgery, once restricted primarily to children with hearing difficulties, is rapidly becoming one of the most popular cosmetic options for adults unhappy with their appearance. There are now 1000 Britons opting for the procedure annually. The operation is particularly common among men; it is now the second most popular plastic surgery procedure for male patients, ahead of facelifts and liposuction, but behind rhinoplasty. According to the BAAPS, another contributing factor for the increase in people electing to undergo otoplasty may be that previously many have been put off by the need for general anaesthetic. However, this sort of operation can be carried out as an out-patient procedure under local anaesthetic. - The Independent Newspaper, UK, 13^th November 2005

Dion ('Darcy') Dale - Pioneer of Deaf Education
Dion Dale a pioneer of deaf education has recently passed away. Dion Dale, known as 'Darcy', was born in New Zealand and he developed his love for teaching deaf and partially hearing children while at Christchurch Teachers' Training College in the late 1940s. In 1955 he sailed to England to study for a PhD at Manchester University on "the extensive use of hearing aids to hearing and severely and profoundly deaf children". His supervisor was Sir Alexander Ewing, who later wrote the foreword to Darcy's first book, Applied Audiology for Children (1962), which was one of the first books to deal specifically with the audiological problems of children, at home and school. In 1965 Darcy pioneered a diploma course for teachers of the deaf at the Institute of Education, University of London. Darcy's main research interest, explored in four books and a Lancet article, lay in ascertaining the extent to which deaf children could be educated in their own schools and colleges. His belief in "individualised integration" and the benefits of mainstreaming were strong influences later in his career. - The Guardian Newspaper, UK, 10^th November 2005

UK Health and Safety Minister Calls for Protection of Call Centre Workers
Opening the UK's first Acoustic Safety Conference at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington (07.11.05), Lord Hunt of Kings Heath stressed the importance of controlling noise at work and protecting the hearing of Britain’s one million call centre workers. The human ear can be damaged by acoustic shock. This can result from a sudden spike in noise due to a random frequency surge delivered via a headset. There are an at least 170,000 people in Britain today suffering from deafness or tinnitus caused by work-related conditions with hundreds of legal cases pending. - e Gov Monitor , UK, 8^th November 2005 (This conference took place on 7th and 11th Nov 2005.)

Eircom Operators to Undergo Hearing Tests in Preparation for Litigation
Former and current telephone operators are undergoing hearing tests in preparation for litigation against Eircom (an irish telecom company) for hearing damage allegedly sustained at work. A number of operators have already been diagnosed as suffering from hearing damage, possibly as a result of faulty or old equipment, and several are preparing to sue Eircom for damages. An audiologist who was involved in thousands of army deafness cases said he had seen several Eircom employees with “one-sided hearing loss'‘, which may have been caused by the type of headsets used by employees of Eircom, formerly Telecom Eireann. Dermot Doogan, a consultant audiologist based in Clonmel, Co Tipperary (Ireland) said that the sampling would indicate that there is a pattern and if the pattern continues, then obviously there's something going on. In the UK British Telecom has settled a number of cases for acoustic shock caused to operators by its equipment. Industry representatives say that over £10 million has been paid out to operators, with some awards reportedly as high as £100,000. - The Sunday Business Post, Ireland, 6^th November 2005

Eid Joy for Four Deaf Children, as Bahrain Restarts its Cochlear Implant Programme
Four deaf Bahraini children were given the gift of sound for Eid thanks to a re-launched cochlear implant programme by the Health Ministry in Bahrain this year. Previously the programme had run from 2001 until 2002, with 15 cochlear surgeries having been performed. In Bahrain for every 1000 babies born, one has profound hearing loss, making about 7 to 10 new cases every year. Dr Ahmed Jama, the cochlear implant surgical team leader, of the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in Bahrain, said that it was an accomplishment that these operations were performed for the first time by an all-Bahraini medical team without any supervision from international experts. - Gulf Daily News, Bahrain, 3^rd November 2005

October 2005

USA Research Shows Paediatricians Ignore Screenings that Flag Hearing Problems in Children
Findings by Donna R. Halloran and colleagues (Saint Louis University School of Medicine, USA) showed that paediatricians (pediatricians) were ignoring the results of the new born screening tests which they were doing. The research evaluated hearing screening results during 1,061 routine doctors' visits at three academic and five private practices in Alabama (USA). It was found that 10 percent of the children failed a hearing screening test (they missed reacting to at least one frequency sounded in either ear at the 20-decibel level) and of those children who failed the test, 59 percent received no further evaluation. This meant that over half of those who fail hearing screenings were not referred for in-depth evaluation by an audiologist. So some children who have hearing problems might not get the help they need. - Eurek Alert, USA research, 31^st October 2005

A New Speaker Device to Help the Deaf to 'Hear' Music Through Vibrations Brunel University design graduate Shane Kerwin is currently working on a prototype of a device (the 'Vibrato' speaker), which he hopes will allow deaf children to join in mainstream music lessons. The new device is helping deaf people to "hear" music through vibrations. Different instruments, rhythms and notes can be felt through five finger pads attached to the "Vibrato" speaker. If connected to a computer, the 'Vibrato' also allows deaf people to compose music. - BBC, UK, 26th October 2005

New Piezoelectric Cochlear Implant to Help Deaf Hear Music
British scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) are developing a new device that will allow deaf people to listen to music. The cochlear implant has a wide frequency range that will improve music appreciation. This new device does not require an external power supply so the whole device could be inserted into the ear. The prototype consists of four prongs that vibrate in response to sound. Each prong is coated with a piezoelectric material that generates its own electrical pulse as the bar moves. This pulse is transmitted directly to the hearing nerve. The research team consists of Markys Cain (lead researcher) and colleagues at NPL. The researchers are working in with the nanotechnology group at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire to miniaturise the prototype to make it a suitable size for the ear. It is thought that the implant, when commercially available, will give users control over the frequencies they hear and allow them to home in on individual speakers and filter out background noise. New Scientist magazine (issue 2522, dated: 22.10.05, abstract) carries an article about this work. The aim of this work is to create the world's first fully implantable cochlear device, which will advance current sound signal quality. The implant will be cheap to produce as it will use semi-conductor processing techniques. - aud.org.uk, UK Research, 23^rd October 2005 (see also BBC news, article 19.09.05)

UK Government Aims to Eradicate Work-Induced Deafness within a Generation
Two million workers in the UK are exposed to dangerous levels of noise and steps are being taken to combat this problem. From April 2006 workers doing noisy jobs will have greater protection. Tighter regulations to reduce the risk of work-induced deafness, tinnitus and other hearing problems are due to come into force next year and will affect a broad spectrum of traditionally noisy industries such as construction, engineering, waste disposal and recycling. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance on the regulations was recently launched at a conference about these issues (entitled 'Sound Off', London, UK) by work and pensions minister Lord Philip Hunt, who stressed the vital need to address the issue. - Edie News , UK, 12^th October 2005

Children Being Made Deaf by Cancer Treatment
The Royal National Institution for the Deaf (RNID) have stated that, several hundred babies and children are made profoundly deaf every year by the drugs given to them to cure their cancers and save their lives. While treating the cancer remains the priority, the damage to hearing, which affects adults as well, has only recently been understood. Now the RNID is appealing to pharmaceutical companies to develop less toxic versions of drugs or others that protect the hearing without diminishing the effect of the chemotherapy. The drugs that cause the damage are the platinum - based chemotherapy treatments, usually cisplatin (which has been used as a cancer drug since the 1970's) - The Daily Telegraph, UK, 10^th October 2005

£4.5-million Funding for a Major New Deafness Research Centre in London (UK)
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has announced the award £4.5 million for a significant new research centre - the Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL). The centre will be located at UCL (University College, London) Department of Human Communication Science. The ESRC will inject £4.5 million ($8m USD) over an initial 5 year period for the study of deafness, linguistic systems and communication. With Professor Bencie Woll as Director, and Co-Directors Professor Ruth Campbell and Gabriella Vigliocco of UCL and Dr Gary Morgan, of City University, DCAL will link a research programme ranging from neuroscience and linguistics to the deaf individual in the community. - aud.org.uk, 10^th October 2005, UK (news source: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Press Office, UK, October 2005)

New Hearing Tests for all Newborn Babies in Northern Ireland Announced
A new born hearing screening programme has been announced for Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland between 25 to 30 babies are born with a significant hearing loss each year and until now the hearing of babies in Northern Ireland was assessed by health visitors, using the Infant Distraction Test, at 7 to 8 months old. However the sensitivity of this test can be low and hearing difficulties may sometimes be missed leaving hearing-loss undetected until the children are much older (18 months to 3 years). In comparison the new test will be carried out on new born babies, by trained specialists, at hospitals, allowing early detection of hearing loss. This will allow appropriate treatment to be provided, to babies with hearing loss, sooner, so helping them to develop their communication skills. - BBC News, Northern Ireland (UK), 4^th October 2005

September 2005

Tinnitus May Respond to Alcoholism Drug
Brazilian researchers (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) have found that a drug used to treat alcoholism can help people with tinnitus (ringing in the ears). It was found that nearly 90 percent of a small group of people with tinnitus reported substantial relief after taking the drug acamprosate. The incidence of side effects was also low. The drug acamprosate is marketed as Campral by Lipha Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Lyon, France. The researchers attributed acamprosate's success to its effect on glutamate, an amino acid that stimulates activity of the nervous system. Their theory is that tinnitus is caused by disruptions in the same glutamate pathways that are involved in addiction to alcohol. The findings to be presented initially at the American Academy of Otolaryngology's annual meeting (25.09.05, Los Angeles, USA). - Health Day News, Brazilian Research, 27^thSeptember 2005

A New Cochlear Implant Surgery Procedure which is Safer and Less Invasive
Researchers from the University of Texas, Health Science Center (San Antonio, USA) have developed a new less invasive and safer surgical technique for cochlear implants. The new minimally invasive cochlear implantation (MICI) procedure avoids the need for the creation of a large scalp ear flap, replacing it with the creation of a small 'pocket' for the cochlear implant device. This method was found to reduce the risks of complications such as: infection, tissue death and flap failure compared to the traditional scalp flap technique, and it also gave a smaller and less noticeable scar. The study found that this technique also allowed for the programming of the patients' cochlear implant much sooner after surgery than was possible with the traditional technique. The findings, from the data for 175 patients, were presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (September 2005). - Health Day News, USA Research, 26^th September 2005

Biochemical Mechanism for Asprin Induced Hearing Loss
It's well known that high doses of aspirin can cause ulcers and temporary deafness, but the biochemical mechanism responsible for these phenomena has never been deciphered. New research from Rice University (Houston, Texas, USA) offers clues, showing for the first time how salicylate (an active metabolite of aspirin) weakens lipid membranes. Researchers believe these mechanical changes disrupt the lining of the stomach, which functions to protect underlying tissue from the acidic contents of the gut. By a similar mechanism, the changes may result in aspirin-related deafness by interfering with the proper function of prestin, a transmembrane protein (identified 5 years ago) which is critical for mammalian hearing. Prestin is found in the inner ear. It is thought to act like a piezocrystal, converting electrical signals into mechanical motion. In the outer hair cells of the cochlea, prestin acts as a molecular motor, causing the cells to move rhythmically and amplify the sounds we hear. So asprin may change the mechanical properties of the membrane, which will most likely affect the biophysical processes that take place there, including those that are mediated by membrane proteins like prestin. This study highlights the pivotal role played by the mechanical properties of membranes in biological processes. The work appears in the September 2005 issue of Biophysical Journal. - EurekAlert, USA Research, 19^th September 2005

Test Could Help Treat Autoimmune Caused Hearing Loss
Sometimes hearing loss can occur after the body's own immune system attacks the delicate inner ear. New research by the Ann Arbor and colleagues at the University of Michigan Medical School (USA) identifies a new test which could help treat those with an autoimmune cause for their hearing loss. It was found in the research that a great majority of the patients who responded to steroid treatment, with an improvement in their hearing, had antibodies against a protein called IESCA (Inner-Ear Supporting Cell Antigen) which is found in the inner ear. The presence of the antibodies is a sign that their immune systems identified IESCA as foreign to the body. This research therefore suggests that a direct test for antibodies could accurately predict which patients will regain hearing with steroid treatment. This study appears in the current issue of the journal Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. - Health Day News, USA Research, 16^th September 2005

Research Shows Where Brain Interprets 'Pitch'
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University (USA) have discovered a discrete region of the monkey brain that processes pitch (the relative high and low points of sound) by recognizing a single musical note played by different instruments. Given the similarities between monkeys and man, it is thought that humans may have a similar pitch-processing region in the brain too, which might one day help those with hearing and speech problems. By recording the activity of individual brain cells as monkeys listened to musical notes, the researchers were able to identify single neurons, located in what they've called the brain’s “pitch centre". Dr Xiaoqin Wang (Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering & Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences) said, “Pitch perception is such a basic function of human and animal auditory systems, yet its source has remained elusive to researchers for decades. The discovery of a pitch-processing area in the brain solves an age-old mystery of auditory research.” This work appears in the 25th August 2005 issue of the journal Nature. - Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions News Release , USA Research, 6^th September 2005

Cochlear Implants' Performance Not Affected By Amount Of Hearing Loss In The Implanted Ear
A new study by Dr Howard W. Francis and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland, USA) suggests those with severely impaired hearing who have a cochlear implant placed in their worse-hearing ear can still benefit. In this study patients with no residual hearing, patients with some residual hearing in one ear, and patients with some residual hearing in both ears, were examined before and after surgery. Dr Francis Howard said that there was growing evidence that the amount of hearing in an ear prior to implant did not effect the patients ability to interpret speech after the surgery, so the better-hearing ear could be saved for the continued use of a hearing aid or future technology to complement a cochlear implant. This work has been recently published in the August 2005 issue of the journal Ear and Hearing. - Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions News Release , USA Research, 1^st September 2005

August 2005

Brain Patterns of Tone-Deafness Examined
Those who suffer from amusia (tone-deafness) can not tell one musical note from another. This disorder can be congenital, present from birth, or acquired following injury to the brain. Amusic adults show a normal range of intelligence and have no other brain deficits. Dr Isabelle Peretz (University of Montreal, Canada) and and collaborators at the University of Helsinki (Finland) have carried out the first first objective measurement of the brain deficit in congenital amusia. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to analyse brain cell responses to tones across different brain areas. Compared to control subjects, people with congenital amusia showed abnormal brain activity in the right half of the brain. Isabelle Peretz said, "it may be possible to compensate for amusia by training pitch discrimination abilities. However, it is likely that the intervention will only be effective in a 'plastic' brain, in children. We see no sign of improvement in adults." Researchers believe that congenital amusia has similarities with dyslexia and related disorders and its thought that the findings will contribute to understanding the origins of learning disorders - the genetic causes and their neural consequences. This work was published online in the in the Annals of Neurology, 29th August 2005 (available via www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/ana). The article is titled, 'Abnormal Electrical Brain Responses to Pitch in Congenital Amusia.' - EurekAlert, Canadian & Finnish Research, 29^th August 2005

Study Shows New Born Hearing Tests are Effective
A new study showed that screening newborn babies for permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) can improve early detection of the condition by 43%. Dr Colin Kennedy and colleagues of the Southampton General Hospital (UK) carried out an 8 year follow up study of children who, as babies, had participated in the Wessex (UK) trial of universal newborn screening (UNS) for PCHI. The study examined a group of 66 children (now aged between 7-9 years) with bilateral PCHI that had undergone physiological screens of hearing soon after birth, and compared them with a group who only had distraction tests at age 7-8 months. It was found that the proportion of children with PCHI referred before 6 months of age increased from 31% without screening to 74% during periods of screening. In the study, children with PCHI who were enrolled in an intervention programme by 9 months led to a reduction of deficits in their development of language and speech. This work was published in the 20th August 2005 issue of the Lancet. - EurekAlert, UK Research, 18^th August 2005 (see also Health Day News, 18.8.05)

Poor Hearing Can Impair Memory
A new study suggests that older people with mild to moderate hearing loss may use up so much cognitive effort trying to hear and understand speech that it undermines their ability to remember what they've just heard. It was found that hearing impaired older adults were not able to memorise and remember words that they had heard as well as those with good hearing. This work was carried out by Arthur Wingfield (Professor of Neuroscience, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA). The findings appear in latest issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science. - Health Day News, USA Research, 18^th August 2005

Scientists Link Genetic Pathway to Development of Hearing
Scientists are now closer to understanding the genetic pathway involved in the development of hearing. New research findings, published online this week in the journal Nature Genetics, detail how sensory hair cells in the ear, which are largely responsible for hearing, develop unique shapes that enable the perception of sound. Dr Ping Chen, PhD (assistant professor of cell biology, Emory University School of Medicine, USA) and her colleagues found that the development of cochlea and hair cells is dependent on a genetic pathway called the Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) pathway. Mammals are not capable of re-growing or repairing hair cells if they are damaged. So people born with improperly developed hair cells, or those who lose them through trauma, disease, environmental factors or aging, cannot regain their hearing. For some time now it has been hoped that discovering the genes involved in development of the ear would help in future efforts in hearing restoration in humans. It was known that the unique asymmetrical shape of hair cells was an essential part of their function but it was not clear which genes were involved in the development of this unique shape. Using mouse models, Dr Chen and colleagues found that the PCP pathway is involved in shaping the cochlea and the sensory hair cells. Mutations within this genetic pathway impact the shape of the cochlea and the polarity of the sensory hair cells that are essential for hearing. - Emory University Health News, USA Research, 18^th August 2005 (previous related news stories, given below, which may be of interest are: 1.05.05 - Scientists Find Deafness Gene..., 14.02.05 - Hearing Restored by Gene Therapy in Guinea Pigs, 10.02.05 - New Findings on Inner Ear Hair Cell Stereocilia Formation - where defective genes were replaced with good ones in mice to result in normal appearing hair cells)

Hearwear - The Future of Hearing, an Exhibition in London (UK) If you are visiting London, UK, you may be interested to visit a temporary exhibition currently taking place on the 3rd floor of the Victoria & Albert Museum (South Kensington, London, UK). An innovative project called on the talents of a number of leading UK designers to produce designs and prototypes for 'hearwear' (hearing products) for everyone, and not just the deaf and hard of hearing, in order to enhance the sounds around us. The brief was to come up with innovative, stylish and desirable hearing products, and the resulting work is shown in this exhibition. - aud.org.uk, 12th August 2005 (further details can be found on the museum's website, this exhibition started at the end of July 2005 and it will continue until March 2006)

Moderators Appointed for the Audiology Discussions Forum
With the growth of the Audiology Discussions forum we have now established a group of forum moderators. They have been selected from our more enthusiastic members within the Audiology Discussions forum online community. We would like to welcome our first moderators: cberli, Guy, I@n, incus and naf. - aud.org.uk, 7^th August 2005

Audiology Resources Website Celebrates First Birthday
We are currently celebrating the first anniversary (birthday) of our website. As it was at the end of July / beginning of August last year when we first uploaded the very first few pages of our then brand new website, and the website went live (although it was in preparation for a couple of years before this.) The website has come along way since then with expansion in all the areas which were there at the launch, as well as the addition of many totally new areas. The Audiology Discussions forum within the website has also been growing slowly but steadily throughout the year and to our surprise is still here today - aud.org.uk, 4^th August 2005

A Remote-Controlled Galvanic Vestibular Device for Humans
Researchers at the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) have just exhibited a galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) device at the 2005 SIGGRAPH interactive technologies and computer graphics conference. The electrical stimulation, known as GVS, occurs when a weak DC current is delivered to the mastoid behind the ear and the body responds by shifting the balance toward the anode. The stronger the current, the more powerful the pull. If it is strong enough, it not only throws you off balance but alters the course of your movement. Researcher Taro Maeda and his colleagues constructed a headphone-like apparatus to deliver the electrical current and a small radio control to direct the strength and direction of the signal. Whoever wears such headphones can be steered by remote control. Collision avoidance, video games and flight simulators are possible areas where this GVS technology can be used. However further research is required as the long-term effects of GVS are unknown - informaticsonline.co.uk (via forbes.com) , Japanese Research, 4^th August 2005

July 2005

Hearing Loss Amongst University Students Becoming More Common
Robert Novak, director of clinical education in audiology and associate department head at Purdue University (USA) has stated that they are starting to see hearing loss (and tinnitus) in young adults that would not normally be expected until middle age. He stated that the hearing loss is often self-induced with constant use of personal listening systems, such as mobile (cell) phones and portable music devices. Robert Novak also stated that students with hearing loss may struggle academically if a professor speaks quickly or with an accent. - Purdue University News, USA, 28^th July 2005

Hereditary Deafness Prevented in Mice
Researchers from University of Iowa (USA) and Okayama University (Japan) have shown that it is possible to cure a certain type of hereditary deafness in mice by silencing a gene that causes hearing loss. Richard Smith, M.D (The Sterba Hearing Research Professor in Otolaryngology University of Iowa) said that the study may point the way to new treatments for deafness in humans. In the work, genetically deaf mice were given interfering RNA (RNAi) that specifically prevents expression of a gene that would otherwise cause deafness. This prevented the expression of the gene and therefore the deafness. It was found that RNAi was not only successful but also highly specific. Standard hearing tests, similar to those used on newborn babies, confirmed that the treated mice were able to hear. Richard Smith who was senior author of the study said, "Even though this is in the early stages, it is really exciting because it points to other options for people who have hearing loss other than hearing aids or cochlear implants." This study was published in the 15th June 2005 issue of Human Molecular Genetics.- University of Iowa News Release. - USA and Japanese research, 27^th July 2005

New System To Treat Middle Ear Problems
Researchers at the University of Dundee (Scotland, UK) have developed new technology that could revolutionise the treatment of middle ear problems. A team led by Professor Eric Abel (Professor of Biomedical Engineering & Head of the Division of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics) have created the SMARTFIT system. This involves a new approach to the design of ossicular replacement prostheses (the tiny bones in the ear), which aims to be the first commercial product to give a genuine replication of the physiological function of the middle ear. It is hoped that the device will lead to a significant improvement in hearing for those who have conductive hearing loss through the use of safer and more effective artificial 'bone' implants for the middle ear in order to restore hearing. - University of Dundee News Release, Scottish Research, 25^th July 2005

A Way to Prevent Cauliflower Ears
Cauliflower ears (acute auricular haematoma) could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new treatment. Cauliflower ears are caused by repeated blows, causing a build-up of blood between the skin and cartilage. If not treated, the cartilage, which gives the ear its shape, can die, making it shrivel. This condition can be seen on sportsmen such as rugby players and boxers. Until now, the only ways of improving the condition have been to drain blood from the ear, which is then bound with a tight bandage, or to carry out cosmetic surgery to rebuild it. Two ear, nose and throat specialists; Dr Nick Calder (Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, Scotland, UK - and now of Gartnavel Hospital, Glasgow) and Dr Duncan Macdonald (Western Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland, UK) have devised a new treatment which uses moulded silicone splints to support the ear once it has been drained. Unlike bandages, they support both sides of the ear and allowing sportsmen to continue training and competing. A mould of both sides of the ear is made after it had been drained and then splints from silicone are constructed to provide the support. Unfortunately this treatment does not help sportsmen who already have well-developed cauliflower ears. - The Scotsman, Scotland (UK), 18^th July 2005

Background Noise Slows Infant's Language Acquisition
A Study has found that even mild background noise in the home, such as other children playing or watching television, can impair a baby's ability to pick up language. George Hollich (Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, USA) said, "This research reaffirms how important it is for a child to see the face of a person while hearing him or her speak. ....This is the first study to show how children are easily distracted when the background noise is at the same loudness as the person talking to the child. We found that even soft noise can be a problem." Four different studies were carried out in order to determine how environmental noises affected language development in 116 infants who were 7 months old. They found that background noise can pose the same problems for these children as it does for hard of hearing older adults in a noise environment. This study was published in the June 2005 issue of Child Development. - Health Day News, USA Research, 14^th July 2005

A New Portable Device to Help Correct Balance Problems
Researchers at the Neurological Sciences Institute, Oregon Health & Science University - OHSU (USA) and the University of Bologna (Italy) have developed a small portable device which can be used to help correct balance disorders. The device is based on auditory feedback of balance, and it can be worn on the belt like a pager to provide regular therapy for patients with balance disorders, improving their day-to-day activities. A lead researcher for this work, Fay Horak, said that they believed that the device would become a useful tool in combating balance disorders associated with problems like vestibular loss diabetic neuropathy, or Parkinson's disease. The device is connected to a pair of headphones and hooked to the subject's belt. When activated, subjects receive audio cues to let them know how their body is balancing. Sounds are created with different tones and intensities tell subjects when they are leaning outside of their central safe zone. For example, when if the subjects lean forward too much they hear a high-pitched tone which that becomes higher and louder the farther they lean forward. Similarly if subjects lean backward, they hear a low-pitched tone that drops and gets louder as they lean back. In addition, the tone becomes louder in the left ear when a subject leans too far to the left. The tone becomes louder in the right ear when the subject leans too far to the right.It is believed that the nervous system can substitute auditory cues for missing or inaccurate sensory information from other senses important for balance, such as from sensors in the inner ear and from muscles and skin. This research is published in the current edition of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. - EurekAlert, USA & Italian Research, 13^th July 2005

Recent Studies on Musical Hallucinations
Musical hallucinations have been known about for over a century but they have rarely been studied. This however has changed in recent years. One new study is by Dr Victor Aziz (a psychiatrist at St. Cadoc's Hospital, Wales) and his colleague Dr Nick Warner. Thirty cases of musical hallucination seen over 15 years in South Wales were analysed. This work is published in the journal Psychopathology (July 2005) and it is the largest case-series ever published for musical hallucinations. Here in two-thirds of the musical hallucinations cases this was the only mental disturbance experienced, one third of the patients were deaf or hard of hearing, with an average age of 78 and more women than men. The results found support recent work by neuroscientists indicating brains use special networks of neurons to perceive music. When sounds enter the brain, they activate a region, the primary auditory cortex, which starts processing sounds at their most basic level. The auditory cortex then passes on signals of its own to other regions, which can recognise more complex features of music, like rhythm, key changes and melody. Neuroscientists have identified some of these regions in people using brain scans, by comparing the response to musical and non-musical sounds. However only a handful of brain scans have been made of people with musical hallucinations. One example is by Dr Tim Griffiths, a neurologist (University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK). He found that for people who had musical hallucinations, after becoming partly deaf, a very similar pattern is seen (using PET scanning) to that in normal people who are listening to music. The music processing regions in the brain may be continually looking for signals to interpret, and when no sound comes from the ears the brain may still generate occasional random impulses that the music processing regions interpret as sound. It may be in a few deaf people the music seeking circuits go into overdrive with music being heard all the time. Further planned studies by, Prof. Diana Deutsch (University of California, San Diego, USA), involving the functional MRI of people who are not deaf and suffering with musical hallucination may also be helpful. - Gadsdentimes (USA), UK Research, 12^th July 2005

First Direct Link Between Ear and Brain's Vocal Control Found
Andrew Bass (Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior) and collegues, from Cornell University, USA, have learned how a humming fish commonly found along the West Coast of USA (plainfin midshipman fish - porichthys notatus) can hum and hear outside sounds at the same time. The male plainfin midshipman fish hums during summer nights to attract females and encourage them to lay their eggs. The hum, described by some as similar to the chanting of monks, is said to be loud enough to vibrate nearby houseboats. It has been shown that the brains of these fish regulate their hearing so that they are not deafened and can hear predators or incoming females even while humming. It was found that the fish control both sound and hearing through nerve impulses from the same part of the brain. The same area of the brain also sends signals to inhibit the sensitivity of the ear's hair cells, which translate sound into electrical signals that the brain can understand. The electrical signals were found to be perfectly coordinated with the fish's buoyancy organ vibrating at the exact same time that the ear's sensitivity was reduced. This study is the first time that a direct line of communication between the part of a vertebrate's brain controlling the vocal muscle system and the part of the ear that hears sound has been found. Understanding the auditory system of this fish may offer insights into how other vertebrates, including how humans, hear and the relationship found between the ear and the auditory and vocalization systems of the brain could help resolve some of the mechanisms that contribute to deafness. This study has recently been published in the Journal of Neuroscience (22.06.05). - Cornell University News Service , USA Research, 4^th July 2005

Another New and Unique Audiology Game from the Audiology Resources Website We would like to announce that we have just released another new audiology related game for all visitors to the Audiology Resources website to play with. This can be found in the 'Fun Stuff' section of our website. This game will test your memory, agility and general audiology knowledge. - aud.org.uk, 1st July 2005

June 2005

Sound Detecting Electro-Mechanical Hairs are Created
Researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands (MESA+ Research Institute) have re-created one of nature's most sensitive sound detectors. They have created tiny hairs based on those found on the body parts of crickets. These hairs allow crickets to hear predators and make an escape before the predators get close enough to catch them. It is hoped that this work could lead to a new generation of cochlear implants, for people with severe hearing problems in the future. The research team, led by Gijs Krijnen and Remco Wiegerink, have shown that they can make mechanical hair sensors and are able to fabricate them in large arrays of long hairs for the first time. They have also obtained experimental results, which reveal how good these artificial cricket hairs are at sensing low-frequency sound. In this work the fine plastic hairs, made of a photo-structurable polymer known as SU-8, were attached to membranes with built-in electrodes and capacitors. Airflow causes drag-forces on the hairs making the membranes rotate, leading to a change in capacitance value of the capacitors. In a more advanced stage, the structures may form a stepping-stone towards the fabrication of hairs operating in fluids, such as found in the inner ears of mammals. This work is published in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (an Institute of Physics journal) on 20.06.05. - Institute of Physics (UK), Dutch Research, 20^th June 2005

Children of Smokers are More Likely to Have Ear Infections
In the USA, 50 - 67 percent of children under the age of 5 live with at least one adult smoker. The effects of the second hand tobacco smoke is known to aggravate sinusitis, rhinitis, cystic fibrosis and chronic respiratory problems. However one common problem that is over looked was recently highlighted in an interview by Prof R. Mark Ray, M.D. (paediatric surgeon in the ENT Department, Arkansas Children's Hospital, USA). This results in an increase in the number of ear infections and the duration of the ear infections of smokers' children. He pointed out that inhailed smoke irritates the eustachian tube, which connects the back of the nose with the middle ear. This irritation causes swelling and obstruction that interferes with pressure equalization in the middle ear which causes pain, fluid and infection. This is an important consideration as ear infections are the most common cause of fluctuating hearing loss in children and can cause slowed development in learning language and motor skills. - The Menton Count Daily Record, USA, 13^th June 2005

Management of Hearing Loss in Apert Syndrome
A retrospective analysis of patients with Apert syndrome, seen between 1970 and 2003 at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital (London, UK) was undertaken. A total of 70 cases were analysed (the largest number of Apert syndrome cases assembled to date) and it was found that more than 56 per cent of cases developed permanent conductive hearing loss by 10-20 years. In addition repeated grommet insertion was common; even though 35% had trouble with ear discharge and persistent conductive hearing loss. Statistically the grommets made no difference to the risk of developing permanent hearing loss. It was concluded that early optimisation of hearing with possible hearing aids needs to be considered and that repeated grommet insertion does not help in optimizing hearing, especially if ear discharge complicated the picture.This work was conducted by Dr Deepak Rajenderkumar et al at Department of Audiological Medicine, Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital (London, UK). - Red Nova, UK Research, 12^th June 2005

Carbon Monoxide Damages Hearing in Young Ears
Researchers from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA, USA) have identified a mechanism which shows how chronic exposure to tiny levels of carbon monoxide damages hearing in young ears. It was found that chronic exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide (CO) damages the inner ear of young rats, resulting in permanent hearing loss. This is important as cigarette smoke, gas heaters and cookers all emit CO, which can rise to high concentrations in poorly ventilated homes. Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to CO exposure because they spend a great deal of time in the home. The authors of this work include: John Edmond, Ph.D., professor of biological chemistry; Ivan Lopez, Ph.D., assistant professor of head and neck surgery; and Douglas Webber, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow; at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. This work is published in the 1st June 2005 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience Research. -EurekAlert, USA Research, 3^rd June 2005

May 2005

Electric Shocks 'Improve Balance'
Researchers from Boston University (USA) believe that they have found a way of helping to restore balance in individuals with balance disorders. Normally the brain uses a complex system of monitoring systems and nerve impulses but this system can sometimes fail leading to balance problems. Their technique, called "galvanic vestibular stimulation", is reported in New Scientist magazine. It involves applying a tiny, painless electric current behind each ear. Dr Jim Collings who is heading the research said that team is now trying to improve the balance of volunteers, counteracting the effect of a swaying platform. He believes that it could even be built into prosthetic limbs to help people wearing them make the necessary adjustments in balance. In addition, it is hoped that the system could help alleviate the feelings of "motion sickness" felt by travellers on ships and planes.- BBC News (UK), USA Research, 30^th May 2005

CT Scans - Insight into Possible Cause of Pediatric Sensorineural Hearing Loss
The recent development of imaging techniques allows for detailed acquisitions, especially in small-sized structures such as the inner ear. This high resolution can be very useful in order to assess sensorineural hearing losses (SNHL). High-resolution computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are frequently done in order to investigate the cause of a SNHL and before cochlear implantation. A new study set out to establish the normal measurements in children without SNHL, to compare the values with those obtained in a large group of children presenting with a SNHL, and then to identify radiological predictive factors of SNHL. In this study, the researchers compared several cochlear measurements of normal and pathologic cochlea. This allowed the establishment of normative measurements. They were able to confirme that a measure of the cochlear nerve canal greater than 2.5 mm or less than 1.8 mm is frequently associated with a SNHL. This measure should lead to doing a MRI to confirm the presence of the cochlear nerve, especially in the case of a pre-cochlear implant assessment. Additionally, the findings display the absence of variability with age, considering the precision limits of the CT scan technique. The researchers are Natacha Crozat-Teissier, M. Elmaleh, and T. Van Den Abbeele (Service ORL Hopital Robert Debre, Paris, France). Findings presented at The Twentieth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) in the USA, 27 -30 May 2005. - Medical News Today , French Research, 29^th May 2005

Was Ear Disorder's Link to Pregnancy a Nazi Plot?
A study has been carried out in which the long accepted notion that pregnant women with otosclerosis, a degenerative disease of the ear bone, are at heightened risk of hearing loss and even deafness has been reputed. Dr William Lippy an Otologist of Ohio (USA) presented the findings this week at the Triological Society's annual meeting. Dr Lippy said, "women with the disease who had children, regardless of how many, had no worse hearing than women who'd never had children." For the last 66 years, physicians have been taught that pregnancy can worsen otosclerosis in women. With further investigation the source for this misinformation was traced to a 1939 seminar held by German physicians. At the time, their speculation of an otosclerosis pregnancy link was used by the Nazi government to promote genetic purity in the Aryan race. No one knows what causes the acceleration of the disease. However other possible causes being looked at include: hormonal changes, German measles in childhood and a vitamin D deficiency. - Health Day News, USA Research, 20^th May 2005 (see also related news story on Medical News Today, 21.05.05 - editorial)

Combined Noise and Carbon Monoxide Exposure Increases Hearing Loss
Research by scientists at École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Université de Montréal (Canada) have gathered evidence which shows that combined chronic exposure to noise and carbon monoxide in the workplace induces hearing loss. The study examined 8,600 workers exposed to both noise and carbon monoxide in the workplace. Among the riskier professions are welders, firefighters, garage mechanics, lorry drivers, forklift operators and miners. The results revealed that the workers who were exposed to carbon monoxide and to noise levels above 90 decibels displayed significantly poorer hearing thresholds at high frequencies (from 3 to 6 kHz). A larger shift was observed among workers with 25-29 years of noise exposure in the workplace. One of several hypotheses to explain this phenomenon is that the reduction of oxygen in the blood stream accelerates the deterioration of the sensory cells of the inner ear. These findings were presented at the Acoustical Society of America annual meeting (16.05.05). - EurekAlert, Canadian Research, 16^th May 2005

Younger is Better for Cochlear Implants
Recent research by Indiana University School of Medicine (USA) has shown that hearing impaired children who receive cochlear implants do better in learinging speech and language skills the younger they receive the implants. However the research did point out that it was not clear as to whether the risk that early surgery (in children below the age of one) would be worth it. The study was carried out by Mario Svirsky (Professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery) and Rachael Holt, Ph.D.(Postdoctoral Fellow in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery). The researchers studied 96 children who received the implants in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th years of life, examining their language skills and speech perception every 6 months. Those who received the implants earlier consistently performed better on tests of language skills. However children implanted before they turned one year old did not appear to do any better than those implanted during their second year. The work will be presented at a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association in Vancouver, Canada on 16th May 2005. - Science Daily , USA Research, 12^th May 2005

Digital Music Craze Stores Up Ear Trouble for iPod Fanatics
Music fans have been warned to turn down or switch off their iPods amid fears the craze for MP3 players is storing up catastrophic and irreversible hearing damage for a generation. It has also been recommended that listening time should be limited to 1 hour per day. Typical MP3 players can currently have a maximum volume in the region of 135 decibles (100 decibels noise is equivalent to standing 5 meters away from a pneumatic drill). Problems are further exacerbated due to long battery running times and high capacity storage of the devices, as well as listeners in city areas having to turn up the devices to a higher level due to the surrounding noise. Christine DePlacido, principal audiological scientist at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, Scotland said, "The difficulty is in persuading people to do this before their hearing is damaged, as many believe hearing loss will not happen to them until they are much older." She has seen tinnitus in a number of young patients who have been exposed to music at high intensities. - The Scotsman, UK (Scotland), 8^th May 2005

Scientists Find Deafness Gene (Sox2), Through Mutant Mice
Scientists in Hong Kong (University of Hong Kong) and Britain (Medical Research Council - MRC) have discovered a gene responsible for hearing, a breakthrough that could eventually lead to a cure for congenital deafness. The lead scientist, Kathryn Cheah (Hong Kong) said that her team worked on the project for 12 years. They eventually traced deafness in mutant yellow mice back to a defective gene. The master gene, called Sox2, is responsible for the development of hair cells and supporting cells in the inner ear that enable hearing. It was found that any mutation or disruption in the gene lead to hearing loss and balance problems in mice. Dr Cheah said, "The implication is that perhaps we can now explore ways of using Sox2 to help develop new ways of regenerating hair cells in humans - this is in the long term." This work is published in the current issue of the journal 'Nature'. - ABC News Online (Australia), Chinese & UK Research, 1^st May 2005 (see also Medical News Today , 21.04.05 - editorial)

April 2005

Long Term Study Finds Ear Tube Surgery Safe for Youngsters
A study by Finland's Kuopio University Hospital found that children who have to have ear tubes inserted early in life, due to severe ear infections, hear as well as others by the time they reach their teen years. The report, published in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, was based on 14 years of study involving 237 children in Finland who had ear tubes inserted when they were from 5 to 16 months old. The study said that inserting tubes brought instant improvement in hearing and could help the children avoid subsequent language, educational and developmental problems. - ABC News Online (Australia), Finnish Research, 19^th April 2005

Traditional Thai Salad Causes Sudden Deafness
A leading ENT specialist from Thailand warned that the consumption of a traditional and highly popular spicy meat salad in Thailand (containing raw pork) may cause sudden deafness and even death. Dr Charan Kangsanarak from Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Medicine (Thailand) said that people who eat the salad known as 'laab' could be putting themselves at severe risk. Figures from the university's Ear, Nose and Throat Department show that all their recorded cases of sudden deafness last year were from people who had consumed 'laab' made from raw pork. The bacteria which causes the condition can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected pigs, including the consumption of contaminated meat. - MCOT News, Thailand, 16^th April 2005

Smart Polymer on New Cochlear Implant to Re-grow Damaged Nerves
Researchers at the Australian Centre for Medical Bionics and Hearing Science (this is a new centre opened just this week, which is a part of Melbourne's Bionic Ear Institute) are currently building a new bionic ear coated in a smart plastic that boosts the growth of nerve cells in the inner ear when it's zapped with electricity. This technology also has potential for healing spinal cord injuries. Collaborator, Professor Gordon Wallace of the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute at the University of Wollongong (Australia), says the polymer polypyrrole is unusual because unlike most plastics, it can conduct electricity. It can also act as a host structure for the molecules that stimulate nerve regrowth, known as neurotrophins. Passing a small electric current through the plastic releases the molecules and helps to reverse the death and degeneration of hearing cells that occurs after prolonged deafness. The molecules are held in the polymer structure and when a small amount of electricity is applied they are released, making them available to the nerve cells. Professor Wallace said the cell regrowth will create a better connection between the brain and the device, improving hearing when there's a noisy background and making listening to music easier. He also said his team has already demonstrated in the lab that it's possible to incorporate a particular neurotrophin, NT3, into the polymer and stimulate its release. Once released this induces damaged nerve cells to grow. - ABC News in Science, Australian Research, 12^th April 2004 (also in MedGadget, 13.04.05 - editorial)

Australian Centre for Medical Bionics and Hearing Science Opens
Australian Prime Minister Mr John Howard opened the Australian Centre for Medical Bionics and Hearing Science in Melbourne (Australia), yesterday, where scientists will research how to apply the bionic ear technology to other medical ailments and disabilities. Prof Clark has donated his $300,000 Prime Ministers Science Prize that he was awarded to the cause and the Federal Government will contribute $5.7 million to the new centre. - The Border Mail, Australia, 12^th April 2005 (See also the press release from Australian Prime Minister's Office, 11.04.05 - editorial)

Scottish County Pioneers Home Hearing Tests for New Babies
Health visitors in Renfrewshire, Scotland, will be carrying out state-of-the-art hearing tests during home visits when the babies are just a few days old. The testing equipment is compact and mobile and the test is painless and can even be carried out when the baby is asleep. During this test a soft-tipped earpiece will be placed in the baby's ear and a clicking sound will then be sent through this down into the inner ear where an echo (otoacoustic emissions) will be produced and the results monitored using mobile computer equipment. If any potential hearing problems are noticed the health visitor will then refer the baby to a specialist. The pioneering project is one of the first in Scotland to offer the crucial test at home instead of in hospital. This will allow hearing loss to be identified much sooner and referrals for specialist care to be made at a much earlier stage. At present in the area, the earliest experts can pick up potential problems is during a 'distraction' hearing test which babies go through when they are about seven months old. - Paisley Daily Express , UK, 11^th April 2005

MTV Generation Not Attuned to Hearing Loss
Dr Roland Eavey, a professor of otology and laryngology at Harvard Medical School (USA) recently carried out a 28-question online survey, that they posted with the cooperation of MTV, on the television channel's website. In only three days, they received nearly 10,000 completed questionnaires. Among the responders, just 8% rated hearing loss as a significant health problem. However, 61 percent said they had hearing loss or ringing in their ears after rock concerts, and 43 percent said they had similar problems after being in clubs.When asked how many had worn earplugs, only 14 percent said yes. Dr Eavey said that hardly anybody knew about earplugs but more than 60 percent said that if they knew loud noise, such as rock music, could cause permanent hearing loss, they would try earplugs. These findings are published in the April issue of the journal 'Pediatrics'.- Health Day News, USA Research, 10^th April 2005

March 2005

Researchers Closer to Helping Profoundly Deaf Using Stem Cells from Adults
Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine (USA) are several steps closer to the day when a profoundly deaf patient's own bone marrow cells could be used to let them hear the world. In laboratory work the researchers led by Dr Eri Hashino were able to transform stem cells taken from adult bone marrow, in mice, into cells with many of the characteristics of sensory nerve cells (neurons) found in the ear. Dr Hashino said that the results suggest that adult stem cells could be used to treat deaf patients in the future. This work appears in the printed edition of the journal, 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' on 29th March 2005. Dr Hashino and her colleagues are now beginning new experiments to test the feasibility of marrow stromal cell transplantation to stimulate the growth of the nerve cells that are often missing from the inner ears of patients with profound hearing loss. - EurekAlert, USA Research, 28^thMarch 2005

Sound Testing Lab Placed in Guinness Book of Records as Quietest Place on Earth
A laboratory based in Minneapolis (USA) has been declared the quietest place on earth by the Guinness Book of Records. When tested the sound level measured was found to be below the human threshold for hearing sound (O decibels), at negative 9.4 decibels. This experience of lack of sound is so profound that a person standing in the room for more than a few minutes would begin to hear his or her own ear making noise as their brain struggled to understand what was happening. The chamber is like a Russian nesting doll with a series of boxes placed inside each other to deaden the sounds of the outside world. The first and largest box has concrete walls that are a foot thick. Inside them, a smaller room called an overchamber sits above the pit. And inside the pit, floating on steel coil springs, is the anechoic chamber. The room measures 20 x 20 x 15 feet (6 x 6 x 4.5 m) on the outside, but just 8 x 10 x 12 feet (2.4 x 3 x 3.7 m) on the inside.Most of the difference is taken up by row upon row of fiberglass wedges that point inward. A sound made inside the chamber travels to the walls and gets trapped inside the wedges lining the interior. Nothing reverberates and the sound dies. The result is 150 decibels of sound loss from the outside world to the chamber. - CNews (Canoe Network, Canada), 28^th March 2005

Audiology Resources Website Reviewed in ENT News Magazine - This website has recently been reviewed in the March / April issue of, the professional magazine, ENT News. The reviewer (Tunde Oduloye) stated, "This website is one of the best, Audiology websites I've had the pleasure of surfing ..." aud.org.uk, 25^th March 2005 (read more about the review in this pdf document - editorial)

One Way Farmers are Like Rock Stars
Research by Kansas State University (USA) indicates that farmers experience greater hearing loss than do people who work in other fields. A recent screening of more than 300 New York farmers found 77% with hearing loss. Researchers have found that on the farm, exposure to engine noise (90-105 decibels), loud animals or power tool motors (90-100 decibels) can damage hearing in about two hours unless some type of hearing protection is used. - Agriculture Online, USA, 23^rd March 2005 (see also the Kansas State University News Release, 23.5.05 - editorial)

Tinnitis Sufferer Calls for Action after Doctor's Offer to 'Deafen' Her
Beth Morrison, a former nurse from Glasgow, and a tinnutus sufferer, was told by an audiological consultant that severing the nerve to her ears was the only way to help her. "I have since found out that severing the nerve would not have got rid of the tinnitus at all," said Beth Morrison. The Scottish Executive Health Department insisted that it was taking the problem of tinnitus seriously after appointing a project manager to modernise and improve audiology services. However, Rhona Brankin, the deputy health minister, said that delivery of specialist services to tackle tinnitus was the responsibility of individual NHS Boards - Scotland on Sunday, UK, 20^th March 2005

4.7 Million Adults in the UK are Suffering from Tinnitus
A recent 2000 people telephone poll commissioned by Action for Tinnitus Research (ATR) shows that a staggering 4.7 Million adults in the UK; an estimated 12% of men and 8% of women are suffering from tinnutus across the UK. ATR will be revealing further analysis of this and the additional 2250 completed online questionnaires, examining the prevalence and impact of tinnitus across the UK, on Tinntus Awarness Day (Tuesday 22nd March 2005). - Action for Tinnitus News Release, UK, 17^th March 2005 (these results seem very consistent with those found recently in China, see our 3.5.05 News Story below - editorial)

Hearing Loss Tied to Heart Disease
It has been found that there are a few people in the world who after they start to lose there hearing they then go on to develop heart disease. Researchers from Harvard Medical School (USA) have found a gene responsible for this, and they're using that information to better understand heart problems faced by millions of people. The researchers studied members of a family with the syndrome (they suffered progressive hearing loss and then underwent heart transplants). This revealed that they shared a mutation in a gene called eya4. - Harvard University Gazette, USA Research, 10^th March 2005

The Artificial Cochlea - Some Prospective Uses
As previously mentioned, researchers from the University of Michigan have constructed a hydromechanical device that is similarly sized and emulates the basic function of the cochlea in the mammalian ear (the cochlea converts sound waves to nerve impulses). Like the biological cochlea, the device uses a fluid-filled channel to determine the frequency of a sound. There is also a membrane present covering the channel which varies in thickness in different places. An incoming sound causes a wave in the fluid. A sound of a particular frequency is then able to displace a membrane at a very specific spot of a specific thickness. Adding sensors along the membrane will make it possible to convert the mechanical changes to electrical signals. It is expected that the device will be ready for practical use as a microphone that performs real-time frequency analysis in two to five years, and as a cochlear prosthesis in five to ten years. A cochlear prosthesis will require electronics to read the membrane signals and active feedback elements to emulate the other complex processes that occur in ears to increase sound sensitivity, discrimination and range.- TRN (Technology Research News), USA Research, 9^th March 2005 (see also our previous news stories of 21.1.05 and 7.2.05 - editorial)

Surprise Discovery finds Brain Cells which Transmit Three Signals
In a surprise discovery, neurons (brain cells) which can emit three neurotransmitters (chemical signals) have been found in rats brains within the first week after birth. This contradicts generations of thinking by neuroscientists. It was thought that each brain cell could emit just one neurotransmitter. More surprisingly, the neurotransmitters appeared to be at odds with one another, with one being an excitatory neurotransmitter (glutamate) and the other two being inhibitory neurotransmitters (GABA - Gamma Amino Butyric Acid, and glycine). This work was carried out by Deda C. Gillespie, Karl Kandler and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (USA). It has been published in this months edition of Nature Neuroscience. Dr Kandler said, "These findings shed new light on how inhibitory synapses evolve and are assembled into functional circuits in the developing brain." Further study could have particular implications for dyslexia and tinnitus which can be caused by abnormal inhibitory signaling within the auditory system. Dr Gillespie noted things became more normalized within three weeks of birth (one week after hearing is fully developed); indicating that early auditory experience may provide the signals that stop the cells from releasing glutamate, a prerequisite for correctly processing auditory information. Dr Gillespie also said that it would be interesting to find out whether abnormal hearing, such as partial deafness or hearing dominated by noise, which in humans can affect normal language development, would cause glutamate to still be released - UMPC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) News Bureau, USA, 7^th March 2005 (for further details of the paper see here - editorial)

Cochlear buys Swedish Manufacturer
Cochlear, the Australian cochlear implant manufacturer, has just acquired the Swedish-based Entific Medical Systems, maker of the Baha (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) system. Cochlear's managing director Chris Roberts said the deal was an excellent fit because the Baha system aided different forms of deafness and it gave the group a second product line to offer customers. The Baha bone conduction titanium implant operates via a bone anchored screw, where vibrations are transmitted to a hi-tech processor and amplifier clipped to the skull of the patient. Dr Roberts said the Baha system helped to overcome conductive hearing loss and single-sided deafness. These conditions do not respond to Cochlear's existing implant devices (which are designed to treat bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss). - The Courier-Mail (note: this article is no longer available), Australia, 5^th March 2005 (see also news release by Entific 4.3.05)

130 Million Chinese (10% of the Population of China) Have Tinnitus
The Chinese Disabled Persons' Federation (DPF) has given a figure of 130 million people, in China, as suffering from tinnitus. Out of these, 100 million people are young and middle aged (i.e. under the age of 60). Hua Qingquan, an ENT specialist from the People's Hospital of Wuhan University (Hubei Province, Central China) said that, "In most young patients tinnitus is developed from too much stress." - Xinhua Online, China, 3^rd March 2005

Childhood Deafness Poses Problems in Developing Countries
Childhood deafness is an important disorder globally, affecting more than 62 million children younger than 15 years, of which two thirds reside in developing countries. Although many studies have reported on the aetiology of deafness, the age and mode of detection and intervention in many developing countries is unknown. A recent study by UK researchers examined the methods of detection of hearing loss in children by questioning 363 parents of children (429 pupils) attending the only public schools for the deaf in Lagos, Nigeria. It was found that parental suspicion occurred mostly at 12-24 months, compared with 8-14 months in developed countries. The commonest mode of detection was a child's failure to respond to sound (49%). The most striking finding was that although physicians were first to be contacted by majority of parents, hearing aids were rarely prescribed and there were instances when parents were told that their children were too young to be tested or that the children were merely “slow starters” and would grow out of the observed speech delays. Enrolment in the school for the deaf was the predominant mode of intervention at a mean age of 10.3 years even where hearing difficulty was suspected within the first six months of life. This work was recently published in the BMJ (BMJ online, 3rd Feb 2005). The paper is entitled, 'Detection of permanent childhood hearing loss in a developing country' and the authors include: Bolajoko Olusanya, Linda Luxon and Sheila Wirz from the Institute of Child Health (University College London) and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (London, UK) - BMJ Online , UK Research, 3^rd March 2005

Steroid Injection Won't Quiet Ringing in the Ears
Research by Dr Mercedes Araujo and colleagues at the Brasilia University Medical School (Brazil) suggests that steroid injections (dexamethasone solution) in the middle ear are no better than inactive saline injections in relieving tinnitus, contrary to some previous reports. A small study of patients with tinnitus showed that 29% of those who received the saline treatment and 33% of those who received the steroid treatment found an improvement with a reduction in their symptoms over a period of 4 weeks of treatment. However the tinnitus then returned again to the same intensity over the following month after the treatment was stopped. This work has recently published in the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (February 2005). - Yahoo News / Reuters Health (article no longer available), Brazilian Research, 2^nd March 2005

February 2005

New Buses in London Noisier than Buses from the 1950's
Modern buses such as the new single-decker bendy bus in London (UK) have been found to emit more noise than their predecessors. The average noise emitted by a new single-decker bus is 93.4 decibels and the modern double-decker is louder too; on average emitting 90.6 decibels of sound. This compares to the old 'Routemaster' bus, in service since 1954 (and currently being phased out), which has been measured at 89.6 decibels. Large lorries and motor bikes were also found to be very noisy averaging at 94.8 decibels and 93.5 decibels. World Health Organisation guidelines say that any continuous noise above 55 decibels can be enough to cause "serious annoyance". - London Evening Standard, UK, 23^rd February 2005

When the Brain, Not the Ears, Goes Hard of Hearing
Researchers at the International Center for Hearing and Speech Research (ICHSR), University of Rochester Medical Center (USA), have found that, what is often perceived as age related hearing loss due to the ear not functioning properly, can instead be due to the ageing brain no longer being able to process the information correctly even though the ear may still be functioning correctly. It was found that the brain’s ability to provide proper feedback to the ear, by filtering out unwanted and unnecessary information, declines in older people. This process begins during those aged in their 40s and 50s and it explains a common complaint by older people who say that they can not hear properly in a crowded noisy environment, because of background noise, but are fine at home. Another problem found was that there is also a closely related brain “timing” problem where older people are not as adept as they once were at detecting slight gaps in speech. This work was carried out by Robert D. Frisina (Professor of Otolaryngology) and colleagues, and it was recently discussed at annual meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (19 - 24th Feb 2005, New Orleans, USA). Robert Frisina said that while most people gradually lose the ability to hear high frequencies as they age, the feedback and timing problems account for many of their complaints about hearing and with this type of hearing loss speaking loudly to the person will not help but speaking slightly slower than usual will help. - University of Rochester Medical Center News, USA Research, 22^nd February 2005 (you can also read about this in the Senior Journal, 22.2.05 - editorial)

Hearing Loss in Children with Poorly Controlled Type 1 Diabetes
Researchers from Sultan Qaboos University (Muscat, Oman) have found that hearing loss occurs during the course of uncontrolled type 1 diabetes in children. The study was carried out using 63 children, who had poorly controlled type 1 diabetes, and were patients at the Khartoum Teaching Hospital, Sudan. The children examined had the condition for an average of 5 years. It was found that all the children had some degree of hearing loss, but one-third of them had a loss of over 25 decibels which indicates functional impairment. It was found that the hearing loss was predominantly in the middle and high frequencies (which can affect speech discrimination) and that the hearing deficit correlated with the duration of diabetes, degree of control and insulin requirement. Along with high frequency hearing loss there were also other complications which occurred, indicating that damage to blood vessels might be involved. So it has been suggested that the hearing loss may have occurred due to the blockage of the capillaries supplying blood to the inner ear, or damage to nerves involved in hearing, or a combination of both. Better control of type 1 diabetes may therefore prevent or delay this condition. This work was carried out by Dr Abdelaziz Elamin and colleagues and it was recently published in the journal 'Indian Pediatrics' (January 2005). - Yahoo News (article no longer available), Omani Research, 15^th February 2005

First Audiology Degrees in Scotland Launched
The first ever audiology degree courses to be offered in Scotland (UK) were launched yesterday. The courses will be run by Queen Margret University College in Edinburgh. There will be a 4 year BSc Audiology course with an intake of 25 students per year, as well as a 2 year fast track postgraduate audiology course (with 20 students) for those who already have a science degree in another subject. Rona Brankin, the deputy heath minister (Scotland), said that one of the specific challenges facing the audiology service in Scotland was a shortage of qualified staff. - Edinburgh Evening News - The Scotsman, UK (Scotland), 15^th February 2005 (this is a follow up from our news story dated 26.1.05 given below, there are also some further details on the Scotish Executive website - editorial)

Hearing Restored by Gene Therapy in Guinea Pigs
Researchers at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan Medical School (USA) were able to restore inner ear hair cells and hearing to some extent in deafened guinea pigs. This was done by using a virus to transfer a gene, called Atoh1 (that stimulates new hair growth) into cells in the inner ear. Only the left ears of the guinea pigs were treated in this way and this resulted in the production of new hair cells in the left ear and not the right in each guinea pig. The researchers were then able to demonstrate that the new hair cells were functional and that the animals responded to sounds using tests, of auditory brainstem response (ABR). This work was published this week (Monday 13th February 2005) by Dr Masahiko Izumikawa, Dr Yehoash Raphael, and colleagues, in the journal Nature Medicine. - University of Michigan News (Record online), USA, 14^th February 2004 (some other publications that this story appeared in, include: The Phoenix-Newspaper of Loyola University 16.2.05 - USA, and The Telegraph in the UK 17.2.05 . On an additonal note, the story below also coincidently has work of a similar nature - editorial).

New Findings on Inner Ear Hair Cell Stereocilia Formation
Researchers at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), USA, have discovered some key mechanisms as to how stereocilia (the tiny hair-like projections jutting from the top surface of hair cells) in the inner ear develop to form their characteristic architecture. Stereocilia are essential components for the normal hearing process and abnormalities of the staircase-like architecture, can lead to deafness and balance problems. Work carried, with mice, replacing defective genes with good copies resulted in the restoration of the normal appearance of stereocilia even after birth. This work therefore indicated that there could be a possible cure of some forms of hereditary deafness, in humans in the future, but much work has still to be carried out. Dr Inna Belyantseva and her co-authors reported their findings in the February 2005 issue of Nature Cell Biology. - NIH News, USA Research, 10^th February 2005

MIT Debuts 'Bionic Ear Processor'
At the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (6 - 10 February 2005, USA) a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, revealed details about a new analogue 'bionic ear processor' device. The processor is an analogue device that is designed to replace traditional cochlear implant devices. An advantage of the new device is that it has a very low power requirement compared to the currently available cochlear implant devices. According to MIT the entire device could run on a 100-mAh battery with at most 1000 wireless recharges and no battery replacements for at least 30 years. - EETimes, USA Research, 8^th February 2005 (there are further details and discussions about this in the Technical Discussions Section of the forum - editorial)

Hearing's 'Off-Switch' Borrowed from Muscles
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University (USA) have discovered that the shut-off switch for the auditory system is quite similar to an "on" switch previously known in muscle. Calcium helps trigger contraction of muscles, and it helps the brain rapidly shut down the ear's sound-detecting hair cells. The researchers report that the small influx of calcium triggered by the "shut-off" nerve causes a flood of calcium to be released from a reservoir sitting just inside the hair cell. That flood, in turn, quiets the hair cell by stimulating its release of potassium. Prof Paul Fuchs (Johns Hopkins Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University), who was involved in the research, said that in the future it could conceivably be possible to manipulate the influx of calcium or the release of calcium from the hair cells' reservoir to try to relieve hypersensitivity to sound or tinnitus. This work appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience (8.12.04). - The Johns Hopkins University Gazette, USA Research 7^th Febuary 2005

Understanding How We Hear: a Mechanism for Amplifying Sounds in the Inner Ear
Researchers at the Universities of Bristol (UK), Wisconsin (USA) and Cambridge (UK) have recently published a new mechanism for amplifying sounds within the inner ear. Sound causes vibrations of fluids within the inner ear which are detected by special sensory cells allowing us to hear. At the top of each sensory cell is the ‘hair bundle’ which is sensitive enough to detect very tiny movements of the fluid in the inner ear. However, in order to achieve the high levels of sensitivity required for hearing sounds such as speech, the sound vibrations reaching the hair cells have to be amplified in some way. Dr Helen Kennedy from the Physiology Department at Bristol University said that their work showed how the hair bundles respond when stimulated by sounds, and that they had discovered that the hair cells were able to produce substantial mechanical forces, which were linked to activity within tiny channels at the tips of the hairs. These forces therefore amplified the sound. So this may explain how we are able to achieve high sensitivity at all frequencies. It is thought that understanding how sounds are processed by the ear in this way will provide insight into how damage to this sensitive amplifier leads to hearing loss, and may lead to improved therapies in the future. This work has been published by H. J. Kennedy, A. C. Crawford & R. Fettiplace ('Force generation by mammalian hair bundles supports a role in cochlear amplification', Nature online 6.2.05). - University of Bristol News , 6^th February 2005

Details of First Micro-machined Mechanical Cochlea Published Work conducted by researchers at University of Michigan (USA) involving the first micro-machined, life-sized, mechanical cochlea, has just been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on 1st February 2005. The article is entitled "Microengineered Hydromechanical Cochlear Model," and the authors are Robert White and Karl Grosh. - Science Daily (article no longer available, please see other links which follow), USA Research, 7th February 2005 (further details about this can be found in the 21.1.05 news story below, and in the Technical Discussions Section of the forum, as well as in The Engineer Online, 15.2.05 - editorial)

Vestibular Studies to be Conducted on International Space Station
Russian researchers have devised an experiment, which will be conducted by the crew of the International Space Station, in order to get a better idea of how the vestibular (balance) system works in space. Snails will be used in the study as there are no radical difference between the balance function in animals and humans. The snails will be launched into space on 28th February in a supply ship to the space station. - Interfax, Russia, 6^th February 2005

Brain Increases Response when Hearing Anger in Voices
Didier Grandjean and colleagues at the University of Geneva collected brain scans from people while they listened to angry or neutral meaningless speech sounds. When compared to neutral speech, it was found that angry voices increased activity in the superior temporal sulcus, a brain region involved in voice recognition. The findings suggested that brains may involuntarily detect emotional signals in voices. This work is published in the February 2005 issue of Nature Neuroscience. - PsycPort.com, Swiss Research, 3^rd February 2005

Antibiotics for Middle-Ear Infections may Not Always be Needed
Researchers at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (Ottawa, Canada) carried out a study, of 500 children aged five and under, and they found that 84 per cent of moderately severe middle-ear infections cleared up without an antibiotic, compared to 93 per cent with the drug. It was found that overall, 84 per cent of children on a placebo got better within 14 days, compared to almost 93 per cent of those taking amoxicillin. The principal investigator in the study was Dr Nicole Le Saux (a pediatrician at the hospital) and the work was published last week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. - canada.com, Candian Research, 1^st February 2005

January 2005

Improving New Born Screening Techniques
A four-year study at Parkland Memorial Hospital, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas, Texas, USA) has shown that that rescreening those infants who fail the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) test, 1 - 2 weeks after the initial test reduces the number of false positives. (The UNHS is given 4 hours after birth in American hospitals). This work was conducted by by Dr Angela Shoup (Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck surgery) and colleagues, and it has been published in the January edition of the Journal of Pediatrics. Dr Shoup said that, newborns may not pass the initial hearing screening for a variety of reasons, including debris in the external ear canal and fluid in the middle ear. - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA research, 27^th January 2005 (also given at EurekaAlert, 27.1.05)

Hearing Work Wins Recognition
New Zealand born Professor Harvey Coates (an ear, nose and throat specialist at Princess Margaret Hospital, Australia) was a pioneer of Australia's first program for detecting hearing-loss among newborn babies. He has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on Australia Day (26.1.05) in recognition of his work. - The Australian, Australia, 26^th January 2005

First BSc Audiology Course for Scotland
Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, is to start the first BSc Audiology Course in Scotland. There will be a grand launch within the School of Speech and Hearing Science on 14th February 2005, by the Scottish Executive Health Department and National Health Education Scotland (NES). - aud.org.uk, 26^th January 2005 (there are further discussions about this in the 'General Chatter' section of the forum, we will let you know of any further details about this course as we get them - editorial)

Farmers Suffer Work Related Hearing Loss
Iowa Farmer Today reports on how daily farm noises such as loud machinery and squealing pigs can add up to irreversible hearing damage for farm workers, young and old. This is in contradiction to the association of rural living with quiet and peaceful locations. They report that farmers are surrounded by many sounds that are beyond the 85-decibel range, which is considered hazardous to hearing. Examples include tractors (74-112 decibels), combine harvesters (80-115 decibels); and pigs (particularly sows in gestation, which range from 85-115 decibels). Traditionally farmers have worked without ear protection so they are now being encouraged to change their habits. - Iowa Farmer Today, 26^th January 2004

Launch of Breakthrough ‘Intelligent' Hearing System by Siemens
Siemens has launched the world's first hearing system featuring hearing devices that can 'talk' to each other. Ear-to-ear (e2e) wireless technology is used. This features a newly developed radio system, the smallest in the world, which enables synchronised adjustments automatically and continuously between the two hearing devices on each ear in a process similar to natural hearing. Users can can make adjustments to the volume by touching just one of the hearing devices or more discreetly using a remote control. A trial of the new hearing system (entitled 'The Acuris Hearing System') was first carried out in the UK where 89 per cent of users reported significant improvements in challenging listening situations and in particular in their ability to distinguish speech from noise in a busy office, restaurant or at a party. - Medical News Today, UK, 26^th January 2005 (see also a related telegraph.co.uk article, 26.1.05, on the experiences of a british user of the device and further details)

Hearing Aid Signal Not Clear? Then Switch Frequency to FM
Dr Fan-Gang Zeng and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine (USA) and the Peking Medical College Hospital (China) have discovered that enhancing the detection of frequency modulation (FM) may significantly boost the performance of many hearing aids and cochlear implants. This is done by separating and blocking out background noise and increasing tonal recognition, which is essential to hearing music and certain spoken languages. The study results from this work appear this week in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This can be compared to why we listen to FM radio, in preference to AM, as it sound better. - University of California: Irvine Press Release, USA and Chinese Research, 25^th January 2005 (this is also given on EurekAlert, 25.1.05)

Loss of Sight and Enhanced Hearing: A Neural Picture
Systematic studies have shown that blind people perform nonvisual tasks better than those with sight. Neuroimaging studies have suggested that areas of the brain normally devoted to vision become active when blind persons perform nonvisual tasks, but much remains to be learned about the nature and extent of this phenomenon. A new study published in the open-access journal PLoS Biology has found a strong correlation between superior sound localization skills and increased activity in the brain's visual centre. The full article is available free of charge to view on the internet (Volume 3, Issue 2, February 2005). This research work was carried out by: Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition, Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal (Montréal, Québec, Canada), the Neuropsychology / Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University (Montreal, Québec, Canada) and Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (Montréal, Québec, Canada) - Public Library of Science, Canadian Research, 25^th January 2005

BSc Audiology Courses are Thriving in the UK
Audiology Resources (www.aud.org.uk) carried out a snapshot survey of how may students there are studying on the new BSc Audiology courses across the UK, in order to get an indication of how many new audiologists we will have in a few years time, via this route (full details of this survey and findings are available in this website). We found that there are 348 students currently studying on the BSc Audiology degree courses across the UK. Numbers are predicted to increase considerably over the next few years. However based on the data gathered we discovered that there will be a requirement for a high number of clinical placements which may be a source of potential difficulty. - aud.org.uk, 24^thJanuary 2005 (there are also further discussions of this survey in the forum, which you can view, or take part in - editorial)

Mechanical Ear Makes its Debut
The first life-sized fully micromachined artificial cochlea has just been built. The device was made by Robert White and Karl Grosh (at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, USA). It works in the same way as the cochlea in a real ear. It could be used to make cochlear implants in hearing aids as well as sensors for commercial and military applications. This work is due to be published in the 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'. - PhysicsWeb (Institute of Physics), USA Research, 21^st January 2005 (see also the 7.2.05 story given above - editorial)

Discovery Offers Promise for Treatment of Age-Related Hearing Loss
Researchers have discovered that deletion of a specific gene (the Rb gene) permits the proliferation of new hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear. This finding offers promise for treatment of age-related hearing loss, as well as that for hearing loss caused by disease and certain drugs. Hair cells in the cochlea detect sound, and with ageing the loss of hair cells can produce significant hearing loss in many people by the time they reach the age of 70. This work has been published in Science Express online (13th January 2005) and is due to appear in the journal Science. The authors include: Zheng-Yi Chen - the senior author (Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, USA), David P. Corey (Howard Huges Medical Institute, USA), and Philip Hinds (Tufts-New England Medical Center, USA). Dr Corey said that the work gave an invaluable window into the control mechanism, which could lead to eventual clinical application in regenerating lost hair cells. He said that much research still needs to be done as simply inactivating the Rb gene will result in the hair cells dividing continuously, which might produce tumours in the inner ear. So ways to inactivate the gene only long enough to allow a clinically useful amount of proliferation, before turning the gene back on will be looked at.- Medical News Today, USA, 14^th January 2005 (see also Innovation Report 14.1.05 and "Hair Cell Hope for Hearing loss" BBC News 14.1.05)

Public to Take Part in Selective Hearing Study at the Science Museum, UK
Researchers from Birkbeck College, University of London (UK) are doing study of how people can selectively listen to one person in a crowded noisy environment. They are conducting their experiment at the Science Museum in London (UK) using visitors to the museum as volunteers. The experiment is part of the Science Museum's 'live science' initiative, which brings academics into the museum to carry out their research. The museum is hoping to enlist 3000 visitors to as volunteers over the coming months. - The Guardian (this website gives a pop-up ad), 13^th January 2005 (see also related article in The Guardian 20.1.05, the experiment which started this month will be running every afternoon excluding Mondays until early April 2005).

Largest Ever Clinical Trial for Tinnitus, Supported by US Government, to be Conducted
The study, led by Richard Tyler (Professor of Otolaryngology, Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of Iowa, USA), is the largest ever clinical trial to be funded by the US government and it is supported by a $1.7 million grant. - Iowa City Press Citizen, USA, 13^th January 2005

Testing How Babies Hear and Perceive Language
Little is known about how babies perceive and process words and sounds from adults and the world around them. Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine (USA) hope to help deaf infants with cochlear implants understand the audible world around them, by the study of hearing infants and toddlers to see how they develop life-long language skills. This information will then be used to establish a yardstick for toddlers who have received cochlear implants. Dr. Derek M. Houston and his colleague Dr Tonya R. Bergeson (Infant Language Lab, James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children) have developed a number of new techniques for evaluating language perception at this very early age. Dr Bergeson said that their lab was the first lab in the world to research speech and language development in hearing-impaired infants with cochlear implants and that they have paved the way for much of the ongoing research. Examples of some of the tests being used are given in this article. - EurekAlert, USA Research, 11^th January 2005 (see also WTHR Eye Witness News, 21.1.05)

Hollywood Actor Steps Forward to Admit Work Related Hearing Loss
Actor Kiefer Sutherland who has worked in many action films (movies) and is the star of the American TV programme 24 said that his hearing has deteriorated over the years and that he believes that his career may have something to do with it, as the type of action roles he has had to play over the last 20 years has subjected him to the noise of gunfire and he was unable to use ear-plugs as he usually had to listen and speak to other actors straight after the gunfire. As a result he is now almost all deaf in one ear and half deaf in the other. - contactmusic.com, 10^th January 2005

Hearing Device Worn in Ear Can Quell Stuttering
This article reports on a device which can help a third of those who stutter. It is known as the SpeechEasy, and it is worn in the ear and resembles a tiny hearing aid. The device changes the way people hear their own voices by raising the pitch of a person's voice and creating a slight delay between talking and hearing. This work is being carried out by Dr Peter Ramig from the, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado (USA). Dr Ramig said that recent brain imaging research shows clear differences between stutterers and others, and for about one-third of stutterers, studies implicate a brain region involved in auditory processing. And that's intriguing, because the SpeechEasy also seems to help about one-third of those who stutter. That coincidence raises a fundamental question: are stutterers helped by SpeechEasy struggling with undiagnosed problems in processing sound? - Houston Chronicle, USA, 8^th January 2004

Understanding Human Nerve Cell Development..
Researchers at the University of Utah (USA) and the University of Washington (USA) have demonstrated that the glial cells play a previously unidentified role in regulating the development of sensory hair cell precursors - the specialized neurons found in the inner ear of humans that make hearing possible. Dr Tatjana Piotrowski (Assistant Professor of neurobiology and anatomy at the University of Utah School of Medicine) said, "This research increases our understanding of how nerve cells develop and whether it may be possible to regenerate these types of cells in humans one day."  This study was carried out using zebrafish as a model, as like humans they use hair cells to detect sound and motion, but unlike humans they are much easier to study as their hair cells are exposed and can easily be seen in live fish using a microscope, whereas in humans the hair cells involved in hearing and balance are buried deep inside the inner ear making them difficult to access. This study has been published in today's issue (6th Jan 2005) of Neuron - Medical News Today , USA Research, 6^th January 2005

Hearing Test to Help Depression Sufferers
Dr Gerard Bruder of the New York State Psychiatric Institute (USA), has developed a simple hearing test that seems to predict with great accuracy as to who will respond to popular antidepressants (the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI, antidepressants). This is important as nearly half of all patients prescribed such antidepressants do not respond to them. In this test the patient wears headphones and two words are spoken simultaneously one to each ear to see which was better heard / identified. It is well known that sounds heard in the left ear engages the right half of the brain and the sounds heard in the right ear engages the left side of the brain. The tests conducted showed that depressed women, who respond well to an SSRI antidepressant, have a larger left brain advantage for hearing words. This test was found to be very accurate and the results have been replicated in three separate studies, showing equal accuracy each time. Dr Bruder said that this shows that hearing seems to correspond to depression, though he's not sure exactly how, but one possibility is that the biochemical imbalances affect, the left brain and the right brain differently and that the imbalance between what's happening in the left and right brain is part of depression. - ScienCentral, USA, 5^th January 2005

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