The Hearing Clinic

Today is World Hearing Day, and this year’s theme is ‘changing mindsets’. It’s made us think how hearing loss is often associated with older age. However, some concerning recent studies highlight how anyone of any age is at risk of hearing loss, particularly due to the impact of modern technology.  Some concerning numbers Let’s take the new research from auditory training app, Eargym, which studied the hearing of over 1,000 people over a four-month period. Researchers analysed the results of a scientifically-validated speech-in-noise activity delivered via the app, and of the 16-35 year olds who completed this activity, a quarter (24 percent) were categorised as having hearing loss, with a…

It’s not uncommon for our pets to live to a ripe old age these days thanks to the wonders of veterinary science. However, even if the latest drug treatments can keep them healthy for longer, there’s not much that can be done about hearing loss. Different causes of hearing loss Hearing loss seems to be a fact of older age for our dogs as much as it is for we humans. Some dog breeds are also susceptible to deafness (dalmatians, for example). And then there are working dogs who may lose their hearing through their work with the military or police. But if an audiologist can work with doctors, why…

It was good to see a tinnitus app, called MindEar, make the headlines in the Guardian recently.  When you suffer from tinnitus, the nature of the condition can make it easy to feel isolated, so the more coverage tinnitus gets, the more people will start to understand the condition and break down some of the myths surrounding tinnitus. The MindEar app provides cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) via a chatbot, along with other approaches such as sound therapy. CBT can help people suffering from tinnitus to reduce their emotional reaction to the sound, which enables the brain to tune it out. The app is designed to provide an alternative to in-person therapy which…

People often think of hearing loss as being something older people get, but there’s one middle ear condition – otosclerosis – that can develop in your teens and young adulthood, and where pregnancy is even a risk factor.  What causes otosclerosis? Otosclerosis isn’t a common hearing condition. About one or two people in 100 develop it, but it tends to develop between the ages of 15 and 35. It’s caused when the stapes, the smallest bone in the body but one which is vital to our hearing, gets fixed to the surrounding structure and stops vibrating. Because it’s no longer moving, the stapes stops transmitting sound to the inner ear,…

A cell therapy to improve hearing could transform the lives of millions of people with hearing loss, new research suggests. The therapy will see the first clinical trial of a stem cell treatment for hearing loss, building on research that resulted in 40% improved hearing in preclinical tests. Sheffield-based biotech company Rinri Therapeutics hopes to start clinical trials in the next two years in people with severe-to-profound age-related hearing loss. Rinri’s work was founded on pioneering research into regenerative cell therapy, led by Professor Marcelo Rivolta at the University of Sheffield. Rinri’s cell therapy, Rincell-1, is for patients with auditory neuropathy, a form of hearing loss which occurs when sounds…

You wouldn’t ask your dogwalker for a haircut so why have earwax removal from someone who isn’t a hearing professional? Due to the decommissioning of earwax removal by the NHS in many parts of England you may have noticed a surge in the amount of people – from dieticians to physiotherapists – offering the service in the private sector. A lot of people who don’t work in the hearing sector are seeing this as a chance to cash in, are doing brief training and then offering ear wax removal without sufficient experience or potentially even clinical registration. Please always ensure that you go to an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser…

It seems that, when the time is right, fish sing songs of love to attract a mate. And they don’t tend to enjoy big solos – preferring to vocalise in choruses which can even be heard from land at low frequencies.  But it’s not just other fish who are listening. Biologists in California are eavesdropping on fish populations in the nearby Pacific Ocean to try to identify spawning seasons with a view to preserving fish populations and protecting marine health. Capturing the recordings was just the beginning. Highly skilled acousticians would then need to listen to weeks or months of recordings to pick out the fish chorusing sounds – a process…