NCHAM News - News

Gene Therapy for Hearing Loss, Potential and Limitations

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

Regenerating sensory hair cells could form the basis for treating age- or trauma-related hearing loss. One way to do this could be with gene therapy that drives new sensory hair cells to grow. Researchers have shown that introducing a gene called Atoh1 into the cochleae of young mice can induce the formation of extra sensory hair cells.

Parents of deaf baby inspire others with their story

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

Being told their beautiful baby is deaf plunged Paul and Ruth Neesham into a frightening world. In Deaf Awareness Week, this Sunderland couple are doing their utmost to inspire others. They struggled to take in the crippling news that hit them like a sledgehammer. It was heartbreaking and Ruth recalls how hearing a song or a piece of music and she would break down at the thought that Jack would never hear such beautiful sounds. Read more about what these parents are doing to inspire others.

Parents don’t talk with their teens about the risk of hearing loss

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

Most parents have not discussed hearing loss with their teens, an US poll shows, although one in six adolescents has high-frequency hearing loss.

Key Cellular Mechanisms Behind the Onset of Tinnitus Identified

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

Research into hearing loss after exposure to loud noises could lead to the first drug treatments to prevent the development of tinnitus.

EHDI Email Express a monthly e newsletter from the AAP

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

In case you haven't heard, the EHDI E-mail Express is a monthly e-newsletter from the American Academy of Pediatrics' "Improving the Effectiveness of Newborn Hearing Screening, Diagnosis and Intervention through the Medical Home project." It is designed to provide AAP EHDI Chapter Champions and EHDI stakeholders with resources and current clinical and other relevant information. Contact Faiza Khan, if you would like to subscribe.

Hospital Begins 1st Stem Cells Approved Study to Treat Hearing Loss

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD) 1 in every 350 infants is born with a significant hearing loss. Hearing loss occurs more often than any other medical condition for which newborn screening is available. To date, no treatment is available to reverse or repair an acquired sensorineural hearing loss. Recently, the FDA approved the first Phase I trial that will evaluate the safety of using a child’s own cord blood stem cells to regenerate cells in the inner ear and potentially restore a child’s hearing.

Doctors work to identify and treat hearing loss in young children

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

Fisher Garver is just like one of the three million other children under 18 who are living with some form of hearing loss. Doctors are now working to identify and treat hearing loss in infants. There are a number of risk factors which could put a child's hearing in jeopardy. Those inlcude infants born prematurely, anyone with a family history of hearing loss or babies who suffered a prenatal infection they shared with their mother while in the womb. That was exactly what Fisher's mother faced, sensing very early on that something was wrong.

Picture Book Centers On Girl With Hearing Loss

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

According to the March of Dimes, about 12,000 babies with hearing loss are born in the U.S. each year, making it one of the most common birth defects. Kids can also lose their hearing due to illness. Wendy Kupfer's new picture book, Let's Hear It For Almigal, is the story of a happy little girl who feels unlucky because she can't hear everything she wants to hear. Endearing, lighthearted and informative, the book can be enjoyed by children with and without hearing loss. It comes just in time for Better Hearing and Speech Month in May.

AG Bell Launches the Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing launched the Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center, the essential Internet resource for parents of children with hearing loss, individuals with hearing loss and professionals who serve them. Content on the Knowledge Center will be focused on guiding parents through the stages that their children will experience as they grow up with hearing loss.

Teaching a Deaf Child Her Mothers Tongue

no@spam.com (NCHAM Staff) — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 MDT

Most babies are born into the culture and community of their families. If the family is Latino or Tatar or Han Chinese, so is the baby. The baby learns the family’s language — “the mother tongue.” Culture and language are passed down from parents to child. Except when the child is born deaf. Most parents simply whisper and coo to their children in their native tongues. We had to decide — and quickly — what our daughters’ native tongue would be. Should we try to get our daughters access to spoken language through hearing technology, or to immerse them (and ourselves) in American Sign Language, or to try to do both? Read this story from a mother's perspective of raising two deaf daughters and the choices they made as parents.