News
Following are a selection of interesting news items from our field. This section will be updated on a continuous basis so check back often in between issues, to see what is new.
Source: Healthy Hearing
Tractors. Pneumatic percussion drills. Jackhammers. Loud music. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC,) every day up to 4 million people are subjected to damaging noise as a routine part of their jobs. Unfortunately that translates to a lot of people at a high risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). New research, however, is shedding light on exactly what physiological changes occur during NIHL, specifically to the hearing parts of the brain, in an effort to create new prevention and treatment options.
Source: Live Science
Myriad sounds have been found to cause seizures in cats, according to research published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. Feline audiogenic reflex seizures are triggered by such sounds as the tapping of spoons on bowls and glasses, and crinkling tinfoil, paper or plastic bags. The seizures are most common in older cats between 10 and 19 years of age
Source: WIRED
The lifecycle of yellow Ormia flies, whose larvae burrow into crickets and eat them alive, has inspired the design of a new hearing aid able to help wearers identify the location of sounds.
Source: ScienceDaily
About one in five people experience tinnitus, the perception of a sound -- often described as ringing -- that isn't really there. Now, researchers have taken advantage of a rare opportunity to record directly from the brain of a person with tinnitus in order to find the brain networks responsible.
Source: ScienceDaily
In a new genome-wide association study, an international team of neuroscientists has found evidence that some people may be more genetically susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss than others.
Source: Nova Scotia
Government of Nova Scotia introduces new legislation requiring audiologists to register with a new regulated body.
Source: ScienceDaily
Researchers have shed new light on synesthesia -- the effect of hearing colors, seeing sounds and other cross-sensory phenomena.
Source: Medical News Today
A large study looked at 211 undergraduate students and found that about 1 in 5 experienced exploding head syndrome -- hearing abrupt loud noises when waking up or going to sleep -- at least once and 37% reported having isolated sleep paralysis. The findings, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, also revealed a correlation between the condition and fear.
Source: ScienceDaily
Does hearing about a company's charitable donations raise your opinion of their products? According to a new study, corporate social responsibility leads consumers to believe products are better quality.
Source: ScienceDaily
Mammals are good at figuring out which direction a sound is coming from, whether it's a predator breathing down our necks or a baby crying for its mother. But how we judge how far away that sound is was a mystery until now. Researchers report that echoes and fluctuations in volume are the cues we use to figure the distance between us and the source of a noise.
