Celebrating...
50 The Kresge Hearing Research Institute at the University of Michigan celebrates 50 years since its founding with an international symposium "Pathology of the Inner Ear, Mechanics and Treatments" on October 14-15 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Leading researchers will highlight the results of clinical trials on the prevention of drug- and noise-induced hearing loss; identify the most effective cochlear prostheses; and discuss alternate treatment paradigms involving molecular medicine, which are beginning to show promise in animal experiments.
40 The Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of North Carolina Medical School capped its 40-year history in May with a fundraiser to facilitate the education of the next generation of audiologists and speechlanguage pathologists. Offering an M.S. in speech-language pathology, an Au.D. in audiology and a Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Sciences, the university boasts programs nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
30 Thirty years ago this past July, the first child was implanted with a cochlear implant (CI) at the House Ear Institute (HEI) in Los Angeles. In the 1960s, William House, M.D., a founding member of Deafness Research Foundation Centurions, developed the single-channel CI and began successfully implanting adults. HEI received FDA approval for a clinical trial in 1980 to implant three patients under age 18 with the single-channel CI. The success of this trial led to the implantation of the same device in a preschool-age child the following year. Since then, HEI has implanted about 600 children with CIs, including the first-ever multichannel device, and has implanted CIs in children as young as 12 months.
20 On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law, offering new and increased levels of access to public facilities and services for people with various disabilities, including hearing loss. Lex Frieden, M.A., professor of biomedical informatics and rehabilitation at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, conducted a survey to gauge the ADA's impact on the disability community over the last two decades. "Overall, more than 90 percent of survey respondents believe that the quality of life for people with disabilities in communities across the United States has improved greatly since the passage of the ADA," Frieden said. "Two-thirds of the survey respondents with disabilities believe the ADA legislation has more infl uence on their lives than any other social, cultural or legislative change in the last 20 years."
10 The Starkey Hearing Foundation marked its 10th anniversary with the "So the World May Hear" Awards Gala in July
in St. Paul, Minn. The event featured Muhammad Ali, Steve Martin, the Doobie Brothers and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Since 2000 the foundation has distributed 447,432 free hearing aids to underprivileged children and adults in more than 86 countries, including the U.S.
Hot Tips & News Clips
Cochlear (www.cochlearamericas.com) now offers an FDA-approved rechargeable battery system for its fully submergible Nucleus 5® cochlear implant.
Williams Sound's new Web site, www.williamssound.com/rald, features the Military Assistive Listening Discount program which provides assistive listening devices at reduced cost to retired and active-duty military service members and their families.
Starkey Laboratories recently donated hearing aids to the Special Olympics Healthy Hearing Program. One hundred Special Olympics athletes who competed in the North America Regional Games in Lincoln, Neb., this past July received complimentary hearing aids.
Phonak is spearheading "A Sound Foundation Through Early Amplification" conference in Chicago, from November 8-10, 2010. Topics include pediatric audiology, including early identifi cation, diagnosis and habilitation. Visit www.phonak.com and click on Events.
