In New York City, we are required to wear face coverings in public and practice social distancing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Non-essential work, like my own part-time job as an educational researcher for a university, must be completed remotely. With these vital public health measures emerge new challenges for people with hearing loss, and I’m advocating for myself and creating solutions when and where I am able.
Operation Regrow Begins June 16
During COVID-19, we have witnessed unprecedented challenges to people with hearing loss, Social distancing and face coverings have exacerbated feelings of isolation and impeded communication with friends, family, colleagues, and medical practitioners. We hope you’ll keep these unprecedented challenges in mind when you make a gift to HHF’s research through Operation Regrow.
18 Years Later
Our twins, James and Riley, were born on August 23. They did not pass this initial hearing screen, so auditory brainstem response (ABR) tests were administered in the hospital. Two weeks after a second ABR with our audiologist, they were both diagnosed with moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
Paint Has a Sound
I wear hearing devices but over the years as I have struggled with my hearing, I could feel and see changes in how I interact with others, in social situations, with family, and, more personally, in how I started to withdraw and become more introverted and retrospective.
HHF Achieves Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance Accreditation
Hearing Health Foundation (HHF), the largest nonprofit funder of hearing and balance research in the U.S., recently underwent its biennial evaluation by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance (BBB WGA) and was again named an Accredited Charity.
Tinnitus and Noise Trauma to the Inner Ear
Tinnitus itself is not a disease but rather a symptom of an underlying condition that can be classified into subtypes based on its many causes. In our article in the April 30, 2020, volume of the journal Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, we focus primarily on noise-induced tinnitus, whether acute or chronic, which is most likely the most common type.
Accessing 911 in a Crisis: An Emerging Tool for the Deaf
The ability to communicate with the authorities by text in an emergency is limited to less than 10 percent of the U.S., says Scott Carlton, the creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness in New York City. Carlton is one of the masterminds behind Deaf 911, an emergency mobile app that gives people who are deaf or hard of hearing a voice when they need it most. Carlton doesn’t have a hearing loss, but his grandmother, with whom he was close, was profoundly deaf.
Managing Hearing Loss in the Time of COVID-19
Frequent, proper handwashing, hand sanitizer use, and not touching your face were the early health and safety directives as the COVID-19 pandemic spread from country to country and then state to state. In the past few weeks, social distancing and face masks became the next tools in helping to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Both are particular challenges for those with and without hearing challenges.
The Challenges of Masks With Hearing Loss
During the COVID-19 pandemic, audiologists and other hearing healthcare professionals are concerned about our patients. With social distancing, we are communicating at a distance of six feet which is difficult if not impossible with a loss of hearing.
Data Made Visual
Over the past several years, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF)’s Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) has generated a significant amount of data. Part of the challenge for HRP consortium members, as for many life scientists, comes not only from the amount of data they need to analyze but also the need to examine multi-omic datasets.