That’s the question currently being asked by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which just posted its draft recommendations for public comment, along with this statement: “[The USPSTF] concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for hearing loss in older adults.”
Erica Patino of Hear2Tell Interviews Timothy Higdon of HHF
In summer 2020, Erica Patino, who lives with a genetic hearing loss, interviewed Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) President & CEO about our research programs and progress toward hearing loss cures. HHF’s focus has always been and remains funding the basic science that propels scientific knowledge forward and comprises the building blocks in the development of new treatments, devices, and approaches. Basic science research is foundational and critical to finding cures for hearing loss.
A Texas Accent?
I had hearing problems all my life and speech therapy through grade school. I always say that it was as a result of speech therapy that I do not really have a Texas accent! (Although some people would disagree.) I don't know why I didn't have hearing aids as a child, but I always sat in the front seats of classrooms to be sure to hear.
Cochlear Implants Should Be Recommended For Adults More Often
Hearing loss affects millions of people worldwide. A committee of hearing experts has released a new set of recommendations emphasizing that cochlear implants (pictured) should be offered to adults who have moderate to severe or worse hearing loss much more often than is the current practice. Such a change could improve quality of life for many, according to the authors.
Getting the Details Right
The first time I ever saw a cochlear implant, it was on the shaved head of my new neighbor, a kindly retired librarian. I actually thought it was some kind of fancy Bluetooth device. I was that clueless. My education came quickly enough, though.
Making Sound More Visual for Students With Hearing Loss in Your Virtual Classroom
Due to COVID-19, most classrooms will look different this fall. Some will exist in person with social distancing measures in place, while others will be entirely virtual. Many will be a hybrid of both face-to-face and online instruction. As always, there will still be students ready to learn and caring teachers eager to take on the curriculum.
Register for the Inaugural Hearing Health Hour Webinar
On Monday, October 26 at 5 PM EDT, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) will host its first Hearing Health Hour event on Zoom. Presented quarterly, Hearing Health Hour is a lay-friendly webinar series about managing hearing loss and related conditions and research updates presented by Emerging Research Grants (ERG) recipients.
Hearing Restoration Project Plans Announced for 2020–21
Hearing loss occurs when sensory hair cells of the inner ear (cochlea) are damaged or die. The goal of the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) is to develop therapeutic methods to convert the cells that remain after damage into new, completely functional sensory hair cells, restoring hearing. We know that in most species—but not mammals, like humans and mice—hair cells robustly regenerate on their own after damage to the auditory system.
Association Between Nonoptimal Blood Pressure and Cochlear Function
High blood pressure (BP) is a common chronic condition in the United States with an estimated prevalence among adults of 31 percent, or 69 million. In addition to an increased risk of stroke and heart disease, elevated BP may also increase risk of hearing loss. In fact, the two commonly co-occur. Numerous studies have evaluated the association between hearing loss and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including high BP.
Teaching by Example
I am open with my students about my hearing loss. I want them to be as comfortable with it as I am, and understand it requires some adjustment on their part, just as it does on mine. In order to hear them I have to ask for silence in the classroom when another student is speaking, because background noise is a killer when I am trying to listen to someone individually.