Music class may help improve certain types of sound perception in deaf children who have cochlear implants, a new study hints. Researchers assessed 27 children with cochlear implants for their ability to discern musical pitch -- how high or low a... read more »
In celebration of Better Hearing and Speech Month in May, Deafness Research Foundation (DRF) announces a drawing contest for children and tweens ages 5-7 and 8-12, and teenagers age 13-18. The theme of each drawing is "It's a Noisy Planet: What are... read more »
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) has received the "Media Award" from the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) for its "It's a Noisy Planet, Protect Their Hearing" campaign and web site. This... read more »
Three individuals have pleaded guilty in a federal court to scamming the Federal Communications Commission out of over $2.5 million with organizations they owned that were designed to help people with hearing impairments.
The FCC has a... read more »
Several emergency first responders in the Rio Grande Valley are learning a new language and it has nothing to do with the spoken word. The responders are learning basic sign language to assist them in better communicating with the deaf or hearing... read more »
Learning words may be facilitated by early exposure to auditory input, according to research presented by the Indiana University School of Medicine at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in San Diego, Feb. 18-22.... read more »
The health benefits of red wine have long been a consolation to those who enjoy an occasional glass or two. But the news has got even better. The health benefits of red wine are down to resveratrol, a plant chemical in the skins and pips of grapes.... read more »
Ohlone College soon will have a new computer laboratory where American Sign Language will be the lingua franca.
The college, which is located in California, is home to about 200 deaf students and a 650-student Deaf Studies division, expects... read more »
Starkey Laboratories Inc. has announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) to launch co-branded pediatric hearing aids.
The earmolds specifically created for children ages 0-13 will feature... read more »
The new i-Monitor from Puretone brings together the sound of their custom Micro Monitors with hands free communications required for today's mobile market. Made from soft silicone, the custom-made earmoulds fit precisely to the user's ear contours... read more »
YouTube is making the tens of millions of videos it hosts more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing by putting automatic captions on them. The Google-owned company said this use of speech recognition technology is probably the biggest... read more »
On February 25, 2010, the FCC issued a Declaratory Ruling addressing certain types of calls that are not compensable under the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) program administered by the FCC. The Declaratory Ruling applies to all providers... read more »
Across the country, thousands of Americans with cochlear implants are hearing for the first time in years or for the first time ever, sounds that most of us take for granted. And as the technology continues to improve, it's broadened the potential... read more »
See What I'm Saying, filmmaker Hilari Scarl's anticipated intimate feature documentary delving into the onstage and offstage lives of four professional deaf entertainers, will embark on a 25 city national tour sponsored by Sprint... read more »
United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today welcomed over $1.3 million in broadband expansion grants from the Department of Commerce Broadband Technology Opportunity... read more »
For football fans, the indelible image of last month's Super Bowl might have been quarterback Drew Brees's fourth-quarter touchdown pass that put the New Orleans Saints ahead for good. But for audiologists around the nation, the highlight came after... read more »
Nobody who was at the FCC's broadband field hearing at Gallaudet University in November will forget the passion of Marlee Matlin. Her dedicated efforts led to captioning laws being passed nearly a generation ago.
But now, according to... read more »
The next time you complain about not being able to see the stage from the nosebleed sections of a Broadway theater, think about not being able to see the stage at all.
"No one wants to feel left out of a performance," said Lisa Carling, the... read more »
Researchers have launched a unique project to improve early diagnosis and management of dementia among Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL).
The research, funded by Alzheimer's Society, will examine how to identify dementia in Deaf... read more »
This action by the FCC is in response to part of TDI's Petition for Rulemaking regarding captioning quality standards filed on July 23, 2004. The new procedure was first announced by the FCC on November 7, 2008 pending review by the Office of... read more »
Deaf children who have cochlear implants report the same quality of life as their hearing counterparts, and their perceived satisfaction improves with earlier implants and longer wear, new research shows.
To read the full article,
In a study published in the March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, researchers determined that regular use of aspirin, acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increases the risk of hearing loss in men,... read more »
For over 30 years, Telecommunications Relay Services have brought voice telephony communication to deaf consumers. The latest development is an application that supports Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. This software from Purple is named... read more »
Safety company Arco is donating one per cent of the sales of its E-gard range to the Sound Seekers charity, which provides aid to deaf children in developing countries. The proceeds will be used to help the charity provide basic hearing... read more »
The Indiana House has unanimously passed a bill aimed in part at helping deaf students by setting state standards for sign language interpreters. The bill passed the House on a 94-0 vote Monday, and now advances to Governor Mitch Daniels for his... read more »
A US appeals court has ruled that Apple is not to blame for hearing loss suffered by those who listen to very loud music on their iPods. The judge upheld a previous ruling that Apple's iPod was not responsible for hearing loss as users can choose... read more »
Learning words may be facilitated by early exposure to auditory input, according to research presented by the Indiana University School of Medicine at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in San Diego, Feb.... read more »
In "The Miracle Worker," actress Alison Pill is flexing a new muscle or rather, several. As teacher Annie Sullivan, she pushes and shoves her way into the sealed-off world of Helen Keller, teaching language to the blind and deaf child played by... read more »
A new hearing aid implanted into the skull bone may help kids with hearing loss in one ear. Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss is a disorder that affects up to 3 percent of children. In the past, treatment options for the condition -- which... read more »
H.R. 1646, the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act, will provide a tax credit of up to $500 per hearing aid, available once every 5 years, towards the purchase of a hearing aid, available to: 1) individuals age 55 and over, or 2) those purchasing... read more »
A new study suggests that bone-anchored hearing aids help youth with single-sided deafness.
Lisa Christensen, Au.D., of Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, and colleagues analyzed the charts of 23 children and teens (age range 6 to 19,... read more »
Eleven months ago, when doctors switched on the equipment on two-year-old Koushik Gandhi's ear lobe, her cried out in fear. Tears of joy trickled down his mother's cheeks as she realized that Gandhi, who was born deaf, was hearing sound for the... read more »
New research conducted in Israel and led by Denmark's Aalborg University once again highlights the incredible qualities of music. Infants who were born deaf and had a cochlear implant surgically placed in their ears can regain up to 90% of their... read more »
The Google engineer, who has been deaf since childhood, loved the Web because he could e-mail and chat without the aid of a sign language translator. As the Web evolved and got faster, online video stated to flood in. And all of a sudden, this... read more »
Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine in Texas have developed a mouse model mimicking childhood deafness, which they believe would provide important insights into the cause of childhood deafness.
Researcher Dr John Oghalai, of Baylor... read more »
Recent research presented by the American Academy of Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery) in San Diego concluded that males are three times more likely to have noise-related hearing loss than women.
According to Dr. Hamid Djalilian of the... read more »
DRF's Council of Scientific Trustee member, Debra Tucci, has been elected president of the Association of Research in Otolaryngology (ARO). We congratulate her on her new appointment!
For more information about ARO and their council members,... read more »
Researchers studied 88 families with children who had cochlear implants and measured their quality of life using a questionnaire. The results revealed children who had a cochlear implant rated their quality of life equal to that of their hearing... read more »
Carl N. Schroeder, president of the Oregon Association of the Deaf (OAD), gave a lecture called Hate Crime and the Deaf. Schroeder's lecture examined how oppression impacts the Deaf community.
To read full article,
The Justice Department announced on Tuesday, February 2nd, that it has reached a settlement agreement with the Alameda County, Calif., Sheriff's Office, under which it will provide sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids and services to... read more »
Children with the surgically implanted hearing aids called cochlear implants rate their quality of life as highly as children with normal hearing, according to one of the first studies that looked at children as well as their parents.
To read... read more »
Single sided deafness affects around 200 out of every million people the world over. The loss of stereo hearing can prove dangerous when crossing the street, or other mobile environments. read more »
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Although children who are deaf may be able to hear when fitted with cochlear implants in both ears, they have a more difficult time controlling their voices than kids with normal hearing, a single-center study showed. Children with bilateral... read more »
Ira J. Hirsh, Ph.D., who did pioneering research in human hearing, auditory perception, communication, speech, language and communication disorders, died Jan. 12, 2010, of cardiopulmonary failure at Hillcrest Convalescent Center in Durham, N.C. He... read more »
Chin-Tuan Tan, Ph.D., a current DRF grant recipient, has extensive experience examining the types of distortion that are common in cell phones. Tan has developed a mathematical model to predict how sound quality may suffer from different types of... read more »
In a study published this week in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Ruth Litovsky, an associate professor of communicative disorders and director of the binaural hearing and speech lab at the Waisman Center at the University of... read more »
A University of Alabama researcher, Craig Formby, is leading a $3.2 million clinical study of a treatment of severe tinnitus, or ringing in the ear. About 50 million Americans say they suffer from tinnitus, but a smaller group, less than 5... read more »
The Hear the World initiative by Phonak will bring the Hear the World Tour - a traveling photography exhibit - to Macy's at Dadeland Mall (Miami, FL) to raise awareness about hearing loss, a growing issue that affects 31 million Americans. From... read more »
A new implant may help people hear again who don't have success with their hearing devices, especially those who can't be helped by cochlear and other implants. This new device retrains the brain to hear.
To read and see a video clip of this... read more »
With hearing loss in America approaching what medical researchers say may be epidemic proportions, a top hearing care executive is calling for this to be the year that hearing care is recognized as a medical necessity.
Even mild hearing loss,... read more »
According to New Scientist, Californian company Sonitus Medical has created a small device that connects around the teeth and uses bone conductivity to translate sounds picked up by a microphone in the deaf ear into vibrations transmitted through... read more »
More than two-thirds of British troops returning from Afghanistan are suffering from severe and permanent hearing damage, according to the most comprehensive study into one of the less well-known side-effects of the conflict in... read more »
A gene associated with a rare form of progressive deafness in males has been identified by an international team of researchers funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The gene, PRPS1, appears to be crucial in... read more »
The Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs pulled off an undefeatedseason, going 8-0 for the first time in school history. The Bobcatsplayed deaf teams from around the country, as well as junior-varsitysquads from nearby high schools.
To... read more »
An international team of researchers have identified a gene associated with a rare form of progressive deafness in males. Seemingly, the gene, PRPS1, is significant for inner ear development and maintenance. The gene is associated with DFN2, a... read more »
A crowd gathered at Michigan State University's Hannah Administration Building on Friday morning to save the Deaf Education program at Michigan State University, which trains teachers for the deaf. The program, along with classes in American Sign... read more »
At University of Rochester Medical Center, specialists in hearing loss and specialists in HIV and the immune system are teaming up to measure the hearing of people with and without HIV, supported by a nearly $2 million grant from the National... read more »
More than 800 runners donned Santa costumes to dash around the streets of Manchester to raise money for deafness and hearing loss charity RNID's Hear to Help service.
To read the full article, read more »
Fourth graders at Academy Hill School in Springfield, Massachusetts recently finished a unit on understanding deafness with a visit from... read more »
Starting with Thanksgiving and all the way to the New Year, families and friends will be getting together for joyful and noisy - celebrations. But if you have an untreated hearing loss, all the laughter and conversation around you will not exactly... read more »
Intended for the hard of hearing, the AmpliPOWER50 phone from Geemarc rings at to 81dB, 3 times the volume of a standard... read more »
Researchers at University of California, Irvine are developing a new breed of hearing implants that will reshape the landscape of auditory technology. The research has already been met with spectacular results on a global scale.
To read the... read more »
From a single electrode to having 22 electrodes, cochlear implant devices have undergone rapid technological evolution.
To read more, read more »
Researchers have identified a gene that causes deafness in the elderly, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The researchers removed a gene, called Bak, in mice and found that these mice had better hearing as they aged than mice that had the gene.... read more »
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Terry Galloway, writer/performer and author of Mean Little deaf Queer, addresses the issues that embroil the deaf/Deaf communities over identity, with Galloway's own deafness, which came on gradually when she... read more »
Specialists in HIV and in hearing at the University of Rochester Medical Center are teaming up to measure the hearing of people with AIDS.
The five-year study is believed to be the first large study of its kind testing the hearing of people... read more »
Marci Lesperance, M.D., now a hearing researcher at the University of Michigan Health System, and researchers in Iowa, France and Germany report they have identified a mutation in a gene, SLC17A8, that accounts for a form of hearing loss that... read more »
Deep in the ear, 95 percent of the cells that shuttle sound to the brain are big, boisterous neurons that, to date, have explained most of what scientists know about how hearing works. Whether a rare, whisper-small second set of cells also carry... read more »
Advances in hearing aid design and technology mean more and better choices for consumers. The October issue of read more »
Senator Sherrod Brown says it's time to make hearing aids a covered benefit under the Medicare health-care program for seniors. The Ohio Democrat introduced a bill last week seeking to add hearing aids to Medicare's basic coverage.
To read... read more »
Troy University (Montgomery, Alabama) and the relay board officially announced a partnership that will provide additional funding for the school’s Interpreter Training Program and eventually start a Center for Deafness on the Troy... read more »
Over one million babies are born with hearing impairment every year in India but early intervention can help get rid of the problem, doctors say. In a panel discussion, doctors unanimously called for screening for deafness in newborns to be... read more »
On September 16, 2009, Senator Tom Harkin was named chair of the Senate HELP (Health Education Labor and Pensions) Committee replacing Senator Ted Kennedy. This change places Congress’ foremost champion of hearing loss and disability issues... read more »
The National Hearing Conservation Association [NHCA] announces that its 35th annual conference will be held February 25-27, 2010 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Titled "Explore the World of Hearing Loss Prevention," the conference will... read more »
Under a settlement agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, deaf patients at the Fort Washington Medical Center in Prince George's County, Md., will be screened and provided with sign language interpreters whenever... read more »
Howard Leight's introduced HearForever (TM), a major initiative aimed to raise awareness of the dangers, risks and consequences of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) at work and at home.
To read more about Leight's hearing initiative,
A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has discovered a genetic cause of progressive hearing loss. The findings will help scientists better understand the nature of age-related decline in hearing and may lead to new therapies... read more »
Researchers have found that the nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people. According to experts, 10% of the population may be tone-deaf -- resulting in the inability to sing in tune.... read more »
In a unique approach to deaf education, two members of the Southeastern Louisiana University education faculty are using technology common in logistics and supply chain management to improve instruction in sign language for young deaf... read more »
Hearing Central LLC, a manufacturer and online retailer of digital hearing aids, offers free tips on the early detection of hearing loss and copping with hearing loss to better educate consumers about the benefits of using them. To view the... read more »
Dr. Yoko Nakano from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, along with colleagues, studied a new mutant mouse line with inherited deafness. The researchers conducted an experiment and narrowed the genetic loci of the gene causing the... read more »
Oticon Medical, a global medical device company, announced that it has obtained 501(k) clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market the innovative Ponto bone anchored hearing system.
The Ponto System features an... read more »
In the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, Psyche Loui and colleagues said tone-deafness appears to be a neurological condition. Researchers used an MRI-based method known as diffusion tensor imaging to analyze a neural pathway... read more »
Cochlear implant technology has been around since the 80's when adults first received them. There are about 150,000 people worldwide who have received cochlear implants. In the USA, there are roughly 30,000 adults and more than 30,000... read more »
A surprising and unexpected discovery happened when an international group of researchers found three mutations responsible for a form of hereditary deafness in a gene that is implicated in cancer. Researchers from the National Institute on... read more »
Researchers use the zebrafish in efforts to find ways to regenerate hearing-essential cells that are damaged as a result of excessive noise, certain illnesses and drugs, and simple aging. The zebrafish has cluster of hair cells running along... read more »
New research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) program will assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of bone anchored hearing aids (BAHAs) for people who are bilaterally deaf... read more »
Researchers at the Peninsula School of Medicine have received a grant of over £39,000 from the charity Deafness Research UK to investigate the role of brain tumors causing deafness in children and adults and the development of therapies... read more »
Discovering Deaf Worlds cofounders Christy Smith (CBS Survivor: The Amazon) and David Justice premiered their first documentary, Discovering: Shuktara, at The Little Theater in Rochester, NY on July 22nd. Although the... read more »
Rose Pizzo who has hearing loss and was raised in a hearing family, shares her experience about growing up deaf and how she discovers that communication can become a dilemma in everyday life in her book entitled, Growing Up Deaf:... read more »
In the US there have been reports of an increase in teens and young adults who are listening to their IPods or MP3s for hours every day diagnosed with hearing levels of a 50-year old. A person who listens to their IPod or MP3 at... read more »
About 37 million people suffer from some form of hearing loss in the US and the cost of hearing devices come with a hefty price tag that insurance companies do not cover. Although, Medicare and most private insurance plans pay only for... read more »
MEDomics, a molecular diagnostic laboratory based in Azusa, CA, has announced an innovative test to detect early diagnosis of read more »
California State University Northridge (CSUN) is one of only two institutions in the country that offers an undergraduate program in the area of Deaf Studies. The program focuses on the study of humans both hearing and deaf. CSNU has more than... read more »
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Photo above (left to right): Roger Harris, DRF Board Member; Liz Saldana, DRF Chief Development Officer; Steven Starker, Co-Founder of BTIG; Andrea Boidman, DRF Chief Operating... read more »
Former Miss USA Shawnae Jebbia talks to Fox News about her battle with Meniere's disease and tips on how to get... read more »
St. Frances School for the Deaf - located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY - pitched in to send Joanel Lopez to compete in the 2009 Deaflympics in Taiwan. So far, the school has raised over $540 along with generous contributions from New... read more »
Leo Lim, a New York University graduate student, received an invitation from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (Cafa) Museum in Beijing to showcase his work "Silent Story" starting July 30th. Lim - who hopes to promote Malaysian... read more »
For the past six years government associations, telecommunication groups and RNID have been working to find a way to install a national emergency service text or SMS number to help deaf people in an emergency. In some parts of... read more »
Action Deafness - an organization that works with Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deafened and Deafblind children, young people and adults across Leicester, Leicestershire and the East Midlands - is holding a festival on May 9th to coincide with Deaf... read more »
BTIG LLC, an institutional broker dealer specializing in trading and related brokerage, has committed to continue its philanthropic efforts with its 7th Commissions for Charity Day, by announcing to donate equity and derivative trading commission... read more »
Genetics Professor Karen Avraham of Tel Aviv University's (TAU) Sackler School of Medicine, postdoctoral researchers in her lab and Dr. Lilach Friedman have discovered how the function of tiny molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) in the inner ears... read more »
British scientists from the University of Sheffield discovered how to transform foetal stem cells into cells that behave like sensory hair cells or auditory neurons. The purpose of this research is to be able to surgically insert stem cells... read more »
On March 30th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1246 Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act of 2009. EHDI legislation would amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize and expand research and public health... read more »
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Val Blakely and Rachel Chaikof are the co-authors of a new book entitled, I Don’t Believe My Ears!, a compilation of wonderful and humorous stories from adults and children with hearing loss. Between the two, they have... read more »
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DRF is proud to announce that the National Institute of Health (NIH) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders has awarded Michael Burger, Lehigh University assistant professor of neuroscience, a $1.8 million... read more »
The Washington Post issued an article about Tinnitus and how it is drawing increased attention due to the Department of Veterans Affairs count of about 400,000 veterans,especially young militants, who are affected by the condition. The article... read more »
In the Fall 2004 issue of Health and Hearing magazine, Theresa Schulz wrote an article titled "Troops Return with Alarming rates of Hearing Loss" that discussed the correlation between hazardous noise exposure from war and hearing... read more »
DRF's Medical Director, Dr. George A. Gates, article on "Central Auditory Dysfunction in Older Persons With Memory Impairment or Alzheimer Dementia", was published in the Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery in the month of... read more »
National Technical Institute for the Deaf/Rochester Institute of Technology has announced its third annual Digital Arts, Film and Animation Competition for students with hearing loss in grades 9 through 12. This national competition recognizes... read more »
The Deafness Research Foundation (DRF) is partnering with the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery’s (AAO-HNS) CORE Grants Program to offer a new one-year grant of $50,000... read more »
The Deafness Research Foundation (DRF) requests applications from both new applicants, and DRF awardees applying for a second year of funding, who are dedicated to exploring new avenues of hearing and balance science. All... read more »
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development (JRRD) today released Volume 45, Issue 5, a special issue on cochlear prostheses for adults with hearing impairments. Hearing loss is among the most... read more »
DRF Council of Scientific Trustees member Dr. Steven D. Rauch of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary writes in the New England Journal of Medicine on Idiopathic Sudden Senrorineural Hearing Loss. This... read more »
Special Toys for Special Kids
The 15th edition of the Toys“R”Us “Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids” is
now available. It offers a wide variety of toy options categorized with
symbols indicating the... read more »
New York Times article on how hearing loss may be more widespread than previously believed; article by Eric Nigourney.
USA Today article on hearing loss in the military; article by Gregg Zoroya.
Click here
To celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Deafness Research Foundation, The New York Stock Exchange Euronext welcomed the DRF on Wednesday, November 21, 2007. Andrea Kardonsky, Chief Operating Officer, had the honor of ringing the... read more »
Brain scientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered how cells in the developing ear make their own noise, long before the ear is able to detect sound around them. The finding, reported in this week's Nature, helps to explain how the developing... read more »
