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More suffer from hearing loss than expected, study shows
One in five Americans has significant hearing loss, far more than previously thought, according to new research that has scientists warning of an impending public health threat.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University say the growing number of...Tags: High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Hearing Impairment, Alzheimer's Disease, Diseases and Illnesses
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Indiana weather conditions favor potential ear rot development
Press ReleaseThree types of corn ear rot have the potential to appear in Indiana fields because of the extremely hot, dry weather. While there is no way to manage or reduce toxic ear rots at this point in the growing season, Purdue Extension plant pathologist...Tags: Indiana, Health, Diseases and Illnesses, Human Body
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Affordable hearing aids? $200 style helps most
![When it comes time to crank the volume on everyday banter, there are hearing aids that won't break the bank It's a statistic that confounds and frustrates just about anyone who works to make sure the sounds of everyday living are heard: Only about 1 in 5 Americans with hearing loss actually uses a hearing aid. The stumbling blocks? The cost of hearing aids, and the fact that most insurance policies won't cover the devices that make it possible to hear a bird chirping or someone yelling across the room. Or a siren. Or fire alarm. Typically, a hearing aid costs $1,000 to $3,000 (and, remember, that's per ear). According to industry statistics, the average cost of a hearing aid was $1,601 in 2009, the latest year available. Only 22 percent of Americans have insurance policies that will help pay for hearing aids, according to the nonprofit Better Hearing Institute. (Those with Veterans Affairs benefits have full coverage.) Insurance companies, on the whole, have never explained the thinking behind that lack of coverage; some have actually deemed them cosmetic devices. The new federal health care plan doesn't offer coverage either. "We tried to push for that, at least for kids," but got nowhere, said Brenda Battat, executive director of Hearing Loss Association of America. (The plan does prevent a tax on hearing retail sales, however.) Affordable option Dr. Sreek Cherukuri, a board-certified ear-nose-throat specialist who runs an audiology clinic in a blue-collar community in Indiana, was frustrated by the calculus of hearing-loss patients who couldn't afford to hear. He was forever seeing patients with varying degrees of hearing loss, sending them to a free consultation with a trained audiologist -- and never hearing from those patients again. Once they heard the cost of hearing aids, which quickly translates to $2,000 to $6,000 if the hearing loss is in both ears, "Those patients went home with nothing," Cherukuri said. In 2007, when the iPhone came on the market, Cherukuri saw reports showing that the phone's components cost an average of $130 to $140. "I started thinking that if you can make a fantastic phone for under $200, I could make a hearing aid that's pretty good for about the same price," he said. Cherukuri is the first to acknowledge that the best option is a customized hearing aid, one that's designed and fitted to a patient. But for many hearing-impaired people, amplification of a full range of frequencies will make for a marked improvement. Cherukuri got to work designing a hearing aid, for mild to moderately severe hearing loss, that would cost less than $200. By summer 2009, his product, the MDHearingAid, was ready for retail. His company claims the FDA-registered hearing aid -- an analog device that comes with a volume dial -- is "one-size-fits-most," amplifying the sound frequencies of the human voice. Other hearing aids in the under-$200 range amplify only the bass, or low frequencies, and tend to amplify background noises that make it harder to hear the human voice. Review and trial "What he's doing is a good thing," said Dr. Charles Weingarten, an ENT in private practice for 41 years and assistant clinical professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Weingarten examined the MDHearingAid at the request of Tribune Newspapers. "It's an economic issue. Good enough is sometimes the best you're going to get." Weingarten and other ENT physicians who looked at the MDHearingAid were quick to applaud its 45-day free trial, which allows people to find out for themselves if it works for their particular hearing loss. The trial is important, says Cherukuri, because "it takes the brain several weeks to adjust to the hearing aid. It has to get used to the new stimulus of sound. You will hear better on Day 28 than you hear on Day 1," he said. "It's not like glasses, where the minute you put them on, you see better." Cherukuri cautions that for patients whose hearing loss is due to nerve damage -- a hearing loss referred to as one of "clarity" -- the amplification will not fix that loss. Overall, Cherukuri's prescription is one with which no doctor would argue: "See a physician and get the best hearing aid you can afford." bmahany@tribune.com Options for those who are hearing impaired Some 36 million American adults (approximately 17 percent) report some degree of hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. For the MDHearingAid, visit mdhearingaid.com. For other more-affordable options ($295 to $895), Weingarten, who carries a pocketful of $30 amplifiers when he goes on medical missions to third-world countries, recommends the website hearingaidscentral.com.](http://www.dailypress.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2011-03/60347166-23110007-400361.jpg "When it comes time to crank the volume on everyday banter, there are hearing aids that won't break the bank It's a statistic that confounds and frustrates just about anyone who works to make sure the sounds of everyday living are heard: Only about 1 in 5 Americans with hearing loss actually uses a hearing aid. The stumbling blocks? The cost of hearing aids, and the fact that most insurance policies won't cover the devices that make it possible to hear a bird chirping or someone yelling across the room. Or a siren. Or fire alarm. Typically, a hearing aid costs $1,000 to $3,000 (and, remember, that's per ear). According to industry statistics, the average cost of a hearing aid was $1,601 in 2009, the latest year available. Only 22 percent of Americans have insurance policies that will help pay for hearing aids, according to the nonprofit Better Hearing Institute. (Those with Veterans Affairs benefits have full coverage.) Insurance companies, on the whole, have never explained the thinking behind that lack of coverage; some have actually deemed them cosmetic devices. The new federal health care plan doesn't offer coverage either. "We tried to push for that, at least for kids,\" but got nowhere, said Brenda Battat, executive director of Hearing Loss Association of America. (The plan does prevent a tax on hearing retail sales, however.) Affordable option Dr. Sreek Cherukuri, a board-certified ear-nose-throat specialist who runs an audiology clinic in a blue-collar community in Indiana, was frustrated by the calculus of hearing-loss patients who couldn't afford to hear. He was forever seeing patients with varying degrees of hearing loss, sending them to a free consultation with a trained audiologist -- and never hearing from those patients again. Once they heard the cost of hearing aids, which quickly translates to $2,000 to $6,000 if the hearing loss is in both ears, \"Those patients went home with nothing,\" Cherukuri said. In 2007, when the iPhone came on the market, Cherukuri saw reports showing that the phone's components cost an average of $130 to $140. \"I started thinking that if you can make a fantastic phone for under $200, I could make a hearing aid that's pretty good for about the same price,\" he said. Cherukuri is the first to acknowledge that the best option is a customized hearing aid, one that's designed and fitted to a patient. But for many hearing-impaired people, amplification of a full range of frequencies will make for a marked improvement. Cherukuri got to work designing a hearing aid, for mild to moderately severe hearing loss, that would cost less than $200. By summer 2009, his product, the MDHearingAid, was ready for retail. His company claims the FDA-registered hearing aid -- an analog device that comes with a volume dial -- is \"one-size-fits-most,\" amplifying the sound frequencies of the human voice. Other hearing aids in the under-$200 range amplify only the bass, or low frequencies, and tend to amplify background noises that make it harder to hear the human voice. Review and trial \"What he's doing is a good thing,\" said Dr. Charles Weingarten, an ENT in private practice for 41 years and assistant clinical professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Weingarten examined the MDHearingAid at the request of Tribune Newspapers. \"It's an economic issue. Good enough is sometimes the best you're going to get.\" Weingarten and other ENT physicians who looked at the MDHearingAid were quick to applaud its 45-day free trial, which allows people to find out for themselves if it works for their particular hearing loss. The trial is important, says Cherukuri, because \"it takes the brain several weeks to adjust to the hearing aid. It has to get used to the new stimulus of sound. You will hear better on Day 28 than you hear on Day 1,\" he said. \"It's not like glasses, where the minute you put them on, you see better.\" Cherukuri cautions that for patients whose hearing loss is due to nerve damage -- a hearing loss referred to as one of \"clarity\" -- the amplification will not fix that loss. Overall, Cherukuri's prescription is one with which no doctor would argue: \"See a physician and get the best hearing aid you can afford.\" bmahany@tribune.com Options for those who are hearing impaired Some 36 million American adults (approximately 17 percent) report some degree of hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. For the MDHearingAid, visit mdhearingaid.com. For other more-affordable options ($295 to $895), Weingarten, who carries a pocketful of $30 amplifiers when he goes on medical missions to third-world countries, recommends the website hearingaidscentral.com.")
TribuneWhen it comes time to crank the volume on everyday banter, there are hearing aids that won't break the bank It's a statistic that confounds and frustrates just about anyone who works to make sure the sounds of everyday living are heard: Only about 1 in...Tags: Crime, Law and Justice, Physical Conditions, Trials, Hearing Impairment, Contracts
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Top Down, Volume Up: Study Finds Convertibles Can Harm Hearing
The 33 NewsLeslie Clay always wanted a convertible--and three years ago she got one--and hasn't looked back. "It was great," Leslie said. "It's a very liberating experience and I don't know if I'll ever drive a car that's not a convertible again." When the weather...Tags: Physical Conditions, Hearing Impairment, Traffic, Health, Health and Safety at Work
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Journey of Drey Mingo one for all of Purdue women's basketball
![<span style="font-size: x-small;">The memories aren't cloudy. They're just not there.</span>](http://media.trb.com/media/thumbnails/story/2011-03/59896727-06221143.jpg "<span style="font-size: x-small;\">The memories aren't cloudy. They're just not there.</span>")
Fox59.comThe memories aren't cloudy. They're just not there. Not from the point to which she slipped to the floor of her West Lafayette apartment on a Tuesday afternoon in late November. To Drey Mingo, it was a dark sleep with a couple of dazed moments of...Tags: Meningitis, Hospitals and Clinics, Purdue Boilermakers, Sports, Health
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Aberdeen educators help students break silence
edickey@aberdeennews.comEthan Hoag might not want to hear every sound — his little brother’s crying, for instance. But it’s important for Ethan, a Simmons Elementary first-grader, to hear what his teacher is saying — and a classroom sound system...Tags: Schools, Physical Conditions, Watertown, Hearing Impairment, Health
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Sinus surgery gaining ground in Kansas
KWCH 12 Eyewitness NewsFor those of you who have battled colds and sinus infections for most of the winter, relief may be in sight. For years, most people endured the pain of constant sinus infections - or the pain of surgery. But there's a procedure gaining ground in Kansas...Tags: Hospitals and Clinics, Physical Conditions, Surgery, Wichita (Sedgwick, Kansas), Bones and Joints
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Finding a zebra in a beef cow
Cows are really pretty amazing critters. They continue to amaze me with their toughness and adaptability. I was recently called to examine a beef cow with a history of weight loss after weaning a calf. Weight loss is common in beef cows while a calf is at...Tags: Brain, Listeria Outbreak (2011), Weight, Diseases and Illnesses, Human Body
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Secondhand Smoke Tied to Hearing Loss in Teens
ReutersNEW YORK -- Teens exposed to secondhand smoke may be at a higher risk of hearing loss, according to medical researchers. The findings, which one expert called "surprising," can't prove that secondhand smoke causes hearing loss. But the link is just one...Tags: Physical Conditions, Medical Research, Hearing Impairment, Ear, Nose, and Throat, Behavioral Conditions
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Fungus could imperil livestock
twager@aberdeennews.comA poisoning that can affect cattle on pasture has optimal growing conditions due to this spring and summer weather. While not spotted in South Dakota yet, ergot bodies have been spotted in states to the south, and ergotism is progressing north, said Russ...Tags: South Dakota, Agriculture, South Dakota State University, Human Body
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Chronic ear infections usually have an underlying reason
One of the most common reasons for pets to be taken to their veterinarian is because of ear infections.
Some breeds of dogs are more prone to ear infections such as cocker spaniels, bassett hounds and other breeds with large floppy ears. Dogs with an...Tags: Ear Infection, Pharmaceuticals, Health, Chemical Industry, Human Body
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A hearing aid that goes in the ear canal and stays there for months
![<span style="font-size: small;">What did you say? I'm sorry I didn't hear you.</span>](http://media.trb.com/media/thumbnails/story/2011-02/59188989-03143844.jpg "<span style="font-size: small;\">What did you say? I'm sorry I didn't hear you.</span>")
WDBJ-TV Anchor/ReporterWhat did you say? I'm sorry I didn't hear you. Does this sound like you? If so you may be one of the millions of Americans with hearing loss. Now there's something so small that's making a big change in many lives. Joe Vipperman is a retired executive...Tags: Hospitals and Clinics, Health, Career and Workplace, Poetry, Labor Legislation
Dec 3, 2011
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Aug 22, 2011
|Story| WXIN-LTV
Mar 23, 2011
|Story| Daily Press
Mar 22, 2011
|Story| KDAF-LTV
Mar 5, 2011
|Story| WXIN-LTV
Mar 7, 2011
|Story| Aberdeen News
Jan 27, 2011
|Story| KWCH
Oct 24, 2011
|Column| Daily American
Jul 19, 2011
|Story| KTLA-LTV
Jul 22, 2011
|Story| Aberdeen News
Nov 18, 2011
|Story| Winchester Sun
Feb 3, 2011
|Story| WDBJ7
Original site for Ears and Hearing topic gallery.
