Hearing Loss News

February 3, 2025

Top Headlines

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Researchers Uncover New Complexities in Human Hearing

Jan. 27, 2025 — Physicists have discovered a sophisticated, previously unknown set of 'modes' within the human ear that put important constraints on how the ear amplifies faint sounds, tolerates noisy blasts, and discerns a stunning range of sound frequencies in ...

Nerve Stimulation: The Brain Is Not Always Listening

Jan. 27, 2025 — Various diseases can be treated by stimulating the vagus nerve in the ear with electrical signals. However, this technique does not always work. A study has now shown: The electrical signals must be synchronized with the body's natural rhythms -- ...

Hearing Impairment May Be a Sign of Increased Risk of Parkinson's Disease

Jan. 14, 2025 — There may be a link between hearing impairment and an increased risk of developing Parkinson's according to new research. This is one of the first studies to examine whether sensory impairments, such as hearing loss, might increase the risk for ...

United States Dementia Cases Estimated to Double by 2060

Jan. 13, 2025 — A new study shows that the risk of developing dementia anytime after age 55 among Americans is 42%, more than double the risk reported by older ...

Latest Headlines

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Acoustic Sensors Find Frequent Gunfire on School Walking Routes

Jan. 6, 2025 — A new study used acoustic sensors that detect the sound of gunfire to show how often children in one Chicago neighborhood are exposed to gunshots while walking to and from school. Results showed that ...

Study Breaks the Silence on How Fish and Lizards Regenerate Hearing

Dec. 9, 2024 — A new study has identified key gene regulators that enable some deafened animals -- including fish and lizards -- to naturally regenerate their hearing. The findings could guide future efforts to ...

Online Training Could Help Older Adults Communicate in Noisy Environments

Dec. 9, 2024 — Online training that helps people recognize and understand new voices could be key to helping older adults improve communication in everyday environments, finds new ...

Brain Mapping Advances Understanding of Human Speech and Hallucinations in Schizophrenia

Dec. 3, 2024 — Voice experiments in people with epilepsy have helped trace the circuit of electrical signals in the brain that allow its hearing center to sort out ...

Listening for Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease

Nov. 20, 2024 — People with Alzheimer's exhibit a loss of motor control along with cognitive decline, and one of the earliest signs of this decay can be spotted in involuntary eye movements known as saccades. These ...

New Study Sheds Light on Language Development in Children With Hearing Loss

Nov. 14, 2024 — Researchers find a link between early vocabulary composition and later language development in children with cochlear ...

Early Treatment for Nerve Tumors Prevents Serious Problems, Study Finds

Nov. 12, 2024 — Small cranial nerve tumors that can cause hearing loss, vertigo and ringing in the ears are often watched rather than treated, but a new study is set to change how the tumors, called vestibular ...

Deaf Male Mosquitoes Don't Mate

Nov. 5, 2024 — Romance is a complex affair in humans. There's personality, appearance, seduction, all manner of physical and social cues. Mosquitoes are much more blunt. Mating occurs for a few seconds in midair. ...

Adding Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Training Sessions May Boost How Well Sounds Are Perceived

Oct. 9, 2024 — Just as a musician can train to more sharply distinguish subtle differences in pitch, mammals can improve their ability to interpret hearing, vision, ...

Declining Senses Can Impact Mental Health and Loneliness in Aging Adults

Aug. 22, 2024 — Researchers found that people who develop sensory disabilities with age tend to have worse mental health, and that different types of sensory disability are associated with different aspects of ...

Blood Pressure Levels Impacted by Chronic Occupational Noise Exposure

Aug. 15, 2024 — A new study found in adult power loom weavers, chronic noise exposure not only increased their blood pressure overall, but also each year of exposure increased their odds of having high blood ...

Dozing at the Wheel? Not With These Fatigue-Detecting Earbuds

Aug. 6, 2024 — To help protect drivers and machine operators from the dangers of drifting off, engineers have created prototype earbuds that can detect the signs of drowsiness in the brain. In a new study, the ...

Switching Off Inflammatory Protein Leads to Longer, Healthier Lifespans in Mice

July 18, 2024 — Scientists have discovered that 'switching off' a protein called IL-11 can significantly increase the healthy lifespan of mice by almost 25 ...

With Gene Editing, Mice With a Form of Inherited Deafness Can Hear Again

July 12, 2024 — Researchers have used gene editing to restore hearing in adult mice with a type of inherited hearing loss. They showed that shutting down a damaged copy of a gene called a microRNA (miRNA) enabled ...

Novel Genome Editing Approach Restores Hearing in Adult Preclinical Models With Genetic Deafness

July 10, 2024 — Researchers restored hearing in preclinical mouse models with a specific form of inherited deafness called DFNA50 caused by mutations in microRNA, by using a novel in vivo CRISPR genome editing ...

Implantable Microphone Could Lead to Fully Internal Cochlear Implants

July 2, 2024 — Researchers developed a prototype of an implantable microphone for a cochlear implant. Their device, which senses the movement of the ear drum in the inner ear, performed as well as commercial ...

Chemo Drug May Cause Significant Hearing Loss in Longtime Cancer Survivors

June 28, 2024 — A new study tracked a cohort of testicular cancer survivors who received cisplatin-based chemotherapy for an average of 14 years, revealing that 78% experience significant difficulties in everyday ...

Creating Supranormal Hearing in Mice

June 28, 2024 — A new study has produced supranormal hearing in mice, while also supporting a hypothesis on the cause of hidden hearing loss in ...

First Case of Down Syndrome in Neanderthals Documented in New Study

June 26, 2024 — A new study documents the first case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals and reveals that they were capable of providing altruistic care and support for a vulnerable member of their social ...

New Gene Therapy Trial Shows Restored Hearing and Speech in Children Born Deaf, Treated in Both Ears

June 5, 2024 — A new clinical trial of five children with inherited deafness found administering gene therapy in both ears led to restored hearing and speech, and additional gains including sound source ...

US Navy Growler Jet Noise Over Whidbey Island Could Impact 74,000 People's Health

May 10, 2024 — As often as four days a week, Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island fly loops overhead as pilots practice touch-and-go landings. The noise is ...

Why Getting in Touch With Our 'Gerbil Brain' Could Help Machines Listen Better

May 7, 2024 — Researchers have debunked a 75-year-old theory about how humans determine where sounds are coming from, and it could unlock the secret to creating a next generation of more adaptable and efficient ...

Participants of Pioneering CRISPR Gene Editing Trial See Vision Improve

May 6, 2024 — About 79% of clinical trial participants experienced measurable improvement after receiving experimental, CRISPR-based gene editing that is designed to fix a rare form of blindness, according to a ...

Illuminating the Path to Hearing Recovery

Apr. 15, 2024 — Scientists aim to uncover the mysteries surrounding a specific receptor protein associated with ...

Researchers Produce Grafts That Replicate the Human Ear

Apr. 1, 2024 — Using state-of-the-art tissue engineering techniques and a 3D printer, researchers have assembled a replica of an adult human ear that looks and feels natural. The study offers the promise of grafts ...

Factors Associated With Age-Related Hearing Loss Differ Between Males and Females

Mar. 6, 2024 — Certain factors associated with developing age-related hearing loss differ by sex, including weight, smoking behavior, and hormone exposure, according to a new ...

New AI Smartphone Tool Accurately Diagnoses Ear Infections

Mar. 4, 2024 — A new cell phone app developed by physician-scientists, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to accurately diagnose ear infections, or acute otitis media (AOM), could help decrease unnecessary ...

Can They Hear You Now? Kids Increasingly Exposed to Noise Health Risks Via Earbuds and Headphones

Feb. 26, 2024 — While it's not surprising to spot teens wearing headphones and earbuds, it's also becoming a widespread trend among younger children, a national poll ...

Scientists Discover Biological Mechanism of Hearing Loss Caused by Loud Noise -- And Find a Way to Prevent It

Feb. 12, 2024 — Drugs that trap excess zinc in the inner ear could help restore lost hearing or, if administered before an expected loud sound exposure, can protect from hearing loss, study ...

How Emotions Affect Word Retrieval in People With Aphasia

Feb. 8, 2024 — People with aphasia have more trouble coming up with words they want to use when they're prompted by images and words that carry negative emotional meaning, new research ...