The Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University in St. Louis plans to start recruiting patients this month for three important clinical trials. Clinical Utility of Residual Hearing in the Cochlear Implant Ear Principal Investigators: Amanda Ortmann, PhD, and Oliver Adunka, MD Project summary and aims: It is estimated that only five percent of qualified adult […]
Hearing loss is the third most common health condition for older adults in the US, and if untreated, may lead to social isolation, depression, cognitive decline, and fear of being home alone. Sadly, over 48% of seniors who purchase hearing aids cannot adjust to them well enough to use them daily and 31% report never […]
The prevalence of single-sided or unilateral hearing loss (UHL) in school-aged children may be as high as 5%. Historically, unilateral hearing loss was thought to have little consequence because speech and language presumably developed appropriately with one normally hearing ear. According to Washington University pediatric otolaryngologist Judith Lieu, MD, however, some studies suggest that a […]
Michael Anne Gratton, PhD, and her lab are using a mouse model to explore how Alport Syndrome, a rare genetic condition, causes hearing loss. Recent findings have highlighted the mechanisms underlying Alport symptoms and identified therapeutic interventions that may prevent kidney dysunction and hearing loss in these patients. Alport Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder […]
The lingering COVID pandemic forced the largest meeting of hearing scientists worldwide to adopt a completely virtual format. The Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) had to move quickly to accomplish the feat which was viewed as very successful by participants. ARO Past-President Keiko Hirose, MD, recently hosted a panel of otolaryngology researchers to discuss […]
Neurotology Fellow Matthew Shew, MD, was recently named one of four recipients of the Dean’s Scholars Award from the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Shew’s research efforts are focused on optimizing the benefits of cochlear implants by using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. The Dean’s Scholars program supports outstanding […]
The hearing science community is tackling the COVID-19 pandemic like everyone else – going virtual. But, that’s no easy task for the Midwinter Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO), which has attracted more than 1,200 attendees in recent years. To allow greater participation in online activities, poster sessions will open almost two […]
Nearly all parents of children born with severe-to-profound bilateral hearing loss want their child to develop spoken language and literacy skills commensurate with those of their peers with healthy hearing. This is important for social and academic development. Lisa Davidson, PhD, and her lab are determined to help optimize the benefits of cochlear implants (CIs) […]
Cochlear implants should be recommended for more adults with hearing loss
Jeff Lichtenhan, PhD, likes to know where and how things originate. That includes things like physiological responses of the auditory system – subtle sound or electrical signals that indicate auditory activity. Some of these signals have been used for decades to help diagnose hearing disorders, but in most cases we don’t fully understand their biological […]