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.
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Duracell recently released a great new ad featuring Seattle Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman, the first legally deaf player in the NFL. Derrick, who narrates the ad himself, said it best after not being picked in the NFL draft, “They didn't call my name, told me it was over.” “But I've been deaf since I was 3, so I didn't listen.”
Scientists from the University of Tokyo levitate and control objects using sound.
To study their surroundings, mantis shrimp use rapid eye movements similar to primates, according to researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia. The shrimp’s eyes were filmed as a coloured object was introduced inside an aquarium and scientists found that the mantis shrimp tracked it with rapid eye movement, known as saccades, which is usually found in primates, but at twice the rate of human saccades.
Childhood obesity is associated with higher pure-tone thresholds and ~2-fold increase in odds of unilateral low-frequency SNHL.
This article covers some of the highlights of the JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery study on acquired adolescent hearing loss and parents' role.
Stanford researchers have received Bio-X funding to develop a tiny moving probe to study the mechanical properties of sensory cells in the ear. Their research could lead to new treatments for hearing loss.
UT-Dallas researchers demonstrated that treating tinnitus using vagus nerve stimulation-tone (VNS) therapy brought significant improvement to some of the participants in a small clinical trial.
The latest Guidance document appears to take a tougher stance on those PSAP manufacturers that market their products to hearing-impaired consumers and who use subtle (and not so subtle) references to their hearing loss.
There are many examples in nature of animals using objects to boost their calls, but situations where animals use objects to amplify sound are not nearly as frequent. Livescience reports on research showing how a social species of Costa Rican bats uses funneling leaves as a type of ear horn to hear other members of their group. The studies were carried out by researchers from Boston University and North Dakota State University (USA).