Samuel R. Atcherson, PhD, was a toddler when his babysitter noticed he didn't respond to sound the way other kids do. He was diagnosed with mild hearing loss that progressed to severe hearing loss by the time he was in college.

"Growing up, I rarely used the phone, because I could not understand," Atcherson recalls. "This affected my social life considerably, and I certainly had moments of feeling isolated."

Atcherson used hearing aids, but still had (More)
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When I was a kid, phone conversations with my grandmother went something like this:

"Hello?"

"Hi Grandma, it's me, Stephanie!"

(Pause) "Hello?"

(Louder) "Hi, Grandma!"

"Hello?"

(Shouting) "HI GRANDMA!!!"

Click.

At family gatherings, my relatives got so tired of repeating themselves that they left Grandma out of conversations. Even as a kid, I realized how isolated she must have felt due to her severe hearing (More)
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June 22, 2010 -- Blasting your iPod or another portable music player may cause temporary hearing loss, according to new research in the June issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

"These devices are potentially harmful," conclude the study authors, who were led by Hannah Kempler, MS, of Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium. (More)
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April 30, 2010 -- People sometimes complain of dizziness or an upset stomach after a riding a roller coaster, but now a new report suggests the high speeds and sudden turns of this popular ride can also cause ear (More)
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April 20, 2010 -- The sooner children with hearing loss receive cochlear implants, the better, according to new research in the April 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Children who receive cochlear implants before 18 months of age are better able to hear, comprehend sound and music, and speak than are their counterparts who (More)
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