Hearing impairment

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A hearing impairment or deafness is a full or partial decrease in the ability to detect or understand sounds. Caused by a wide range of biological and environmental factors, loss of hearing can happen to any organism that perceives sound. "Hearing impaired" is often used to refer to those who are deaf, although the term is viewed negatively by members of Deaf culture, who prefer the terms "Deaf" and "Hard of Hearing".

Sound waves vary in amplitude and in frequency. Amplitude is the sound wave's peak pressure variation. Frequency is the number of cycles per second of a sinusoidal component of a sound wave. Loss of the ability to detect some frequencies, or to detect low-amplitude sounds that an organism naturally detects, is a hearing impairment.

For more information about Hearing impairment, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with hearing

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Now hear this: Mouse study sheds light on hearing loss in older adults

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created 10 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Becoming "hard of hearing" is a standard but unfortunate part of aging: A syndrome called age-related hearing loss affects about 40 percent of people over 65 in the United States, and will afflict an estimated ...


Squeak, squeak -- can you hear me now?

Squeak, squeak -- can you hear me now?

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created 16 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

What do you get when you cross a mouse with poor hearing and a mouse with even worse hearing? Ironically, a new strain of mice with "golden ears" - mice that have outstanding hearing as they age.


A sound practice: Cochlear implants restore children's hearing

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Ava Martin seems less nervous than her parents as the three sit in an audiologist’s office at UC Irvine Medical Center a few days after Labor Day. In August, the 6-year-old had surgery to place a cochlear ...


Drivers of convertibles may be at risk for noise-induced hearing loss

Medicine & Health / Health

created Oct 06, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Drivers who frequently take to the road with the top down may be risking serious damage to their hearing, according to research presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) ...


Genetic mutation a strong indicator of age-related hearing loss risk

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 06, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Patients who exhibited a certain genetic mutation of anti-oxidant enzymes are three times more likely to develop age-related hearing loss (ARHL), according to new research presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head ...


Higher folates, not antioxidants, can reduce hearing loss risk in men

Medicine & Health / Health

created Oct 05, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Increased intakes of antioxidant vitamins have no bearing on whether or not a man will develop hearing loss, but higher folate intake can decrease his risk by 20 percent, according to new research presented at the 2009 American ...


Men nearly 3 times as likely to develop noise-induced hearing loss

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 05, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

A comprehensive study of the prevalence and risk factors for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) show that men, especially those who are white and married, are significantly more at risk than women, according to new research ...


Scientists identify genetic cause for type of deafness

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Sep 03, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has discovered a genetic cause of progressive hearing loss. The findings will help scientists better understand the nature of age-related decline in hearing and ...


Gene discovery reveals a critical protein's function in hearing

Gene discovery reveals a critical protein's function in hearing

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Aug 21, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Discovery of a deafness-causing gene defect in mice has helped identify a new protein that protects sensory cells in the ear, according to a study led by University of Iowa researchers. The findings, which ...


Hearing the words beneath the noise

Technology / Engineering

created Aug 05, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Hearing aids and cochlear implants act as tiny amplifiers so the deaf and hard-of-hearing can make sense of voices and music. Unfortunately, these devices also amplify background sound, so they're less effective in a noisy ...


Common antibacterial treatment linked to sensorineural hearing loss in cystic fibrosis patients

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Jul 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

An otherwise effective treatment for cystic fibrosis places patients at a high risk of sensorineural hearing loss, according to new research published in the July edition of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.


Which treatment works best? Top study needs listed

Medicine & Health / Health

created Jun 30, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- The government is about to start a huge research effort to prove which are the best treatments for scores of ailments. Irregular heartbeat, prostate cancer, back pain and hearing loss lead the list of medical problems ...


Got ear plugs? You may want to sport them on the subway and other mass transit

Medicine & Health / Health

created Jun 19, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 2

The U.S. mass transit system, the largest in the world, provides affordable and efficient transportation to more than 33 million riders each weekday. The system is generally considered one of the safest modes of travel. But ...


Hearing, voice problems worsen seniors' communication skills

Medicine & Health / Other

created May 31, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Hearing and vocal problems go hand-in-hand among the elderly more frequently than previously thought, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Together, they pack a devastating double punch on communication ...


Pair of Bionic Ears Helps to Distinguish Left from Right

Medicine & Health / Research

created May 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Can a pair of bionic ears benefit a hearing-impaired child? Cynthia Zettler, a postdoctoral fellow in Ruth Litovsky's laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison thinks so.