Hearing impairment
hideA 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.
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News tagged with hearing
Biophysical method may help to recover hearing
Biology /
Aug 29, 2008 |
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Scientists based in Switzerland and South Africa have created a biophysical methodology that may help to overcome hearing deficits, and potentially remedy even substantial hearing loss. The authors propose a method of retuning ...
Ion channel turns ear on its head
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Apr 23, 2009 |
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Scientists thought they had a good model to explain how the inner ear translates vibrations in the air into sounds heard by the brain. Now, based on new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine, it looks like ...
Study finds not all hearing aids are created equal
Aug 13, 2008 |
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Consumers with hearing loss might think they are saving significantly more by purchasing over- the-counter hearing aids, but they most likely will be disappointed – or could be taking risks – when purchasing such aids, according ...
Can vitamins and minerals prevent hearing loss?
Nov 10, 2008 |
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About 10 million people in the United States alone—from troops returning from war to students with music blasting through headphones—are suffering from impairing noise-induced hearing loss.
Vitamin supplements may protect against noise-induced hearing loss
Feb 17, 2009 |
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Vitamin supplements can prevent hearing loss in laboratory animals, according to two new studies, bringing investigators one step closer to the development of a pill that could stave off noise-induced and perhaps even age-related ...
Researchers studying hearing loss find auditory regions of the brain convert to the sense of touch
Mar 24, 2009 |
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Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have discovered that adult animals with hearing loss actually re-route the sense of touch into the hearing parts of the brain.
Got ear plugs? You may want to sport them on the subway and other mass transit
Jun 19, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
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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 ...
Memory impairment associated with sound processing disorder
Jul 21, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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Mild memory impairment may be associated with central auditory processing dysfunction, or difficulty hearing in complex situations with competing noise, such as hearing a single conversation amid several other conversations, ...
New tool to assess speech development in infants, toddlers with hearing impairments
Sep 23, 2008 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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The number of hearing impaired infants and toddlers who are successfully aided by technological devices, such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, continues to grow, but there are still unknowns about these children's speaking ...
Genes that control cell death fingered in age-related hearing loss
Oct 16, 2008 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Several genes that play a role in how our body's cells normally auto-destruct may play a role in age-related hearing loss, according to research published online in the journal Apoptosis – a journal devoted to the topic ...
Gene discovery reveals a critical protein's function in hearing
Aug 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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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 ...
Higher folates, not antioxidants, can reduce hearing loss risk in men
Oct 05, 2009 |
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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 ...
Virtual ears and the cocktail party effect
Nov 17, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Oxford University research has helped understanding of the so-called ‘cocktail party effect’ – how our brains develop the ability to pinpoint and focus on particular sounds among a background ...
Scaling the wall of deafness
Apr 14, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
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Despite modern medicine, one in 1,000 American babies are born deaf. The numbers increase markedly with age, with more than 50% of seniors in the United States experiencing some form of hearing loss.
Sudden hearing loss could indicate future stroke
Jun 27, 2008 |
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[B]American Heart Association rapid access journal report[/B] Preliminary research culled from a national medical insurance records database in Taiwan suggests that sudden loss of hearing might be an early sign of vulnerability to ...
