By Mitchell Batavia, PT, Ph.D.
Mitchell Batavia PT, Ph.D., is an associate professor of physical therapy at New York University and a person with a hearing impairment. In addition to cartoons and flash fiction, he has published healthcare textbooks with Elsevier and Butterworth-Heinemann.
Before the HRP, there was no mechanism for data sharing and collaboration, no way to assess gene expression rigorously or to identify relevant patterns, and no examples of new hair cells generated in a post-hearing mammalian cochlea.
Despite decades of research showing the profound impact of hearing health on overall quality of life, most people won't consider their auditory system until problems become undeniable.
The squirrels’ improved ability to hear low frequency sounds is likely a sensory adaptation to life at high elevations, where weather and thin air can reduce how well sound travels. The study highlights how hearing and behavior can evolve together to help animals survive in challenging acoustic environments.
When wearing earplugs earns a reprimand from a master teacher, two high school classical musicians decide it’s time to change the conversation about the risk of hearing loss among their peers.
It seems paradoxical that a hearing condition intended to work against me could give me the power to truly understand music, but this battle has taught me more about positivity and hope than any motivational speech could.