Awareness

Advocates call for an end to abuse of Deaf prisoners

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© Mopic/Fotolia

A leading American civil rights advocate for the Deaf is calling on the state of Florida to end the abuse of Deaf prisoners housed in its correctional institutions. Talila Lewis says the abuse experienced by deaf prisoners “defies imagination”. There are more than 400 men and women prisoners in correctional

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Firefighters sue manufacturers over hearing loss

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© Jason Winter/Fotolia

Four firefighters in Pittsburg have filed a civil lawsuit against seven manufacturers of sirens and fire trucks, claiming they are responsible for their permanent hearing loss. They claim the companies “knew or should have known that the products…were inherently dangerous, defective and

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A national approach to noise induced hearing loss

A large multidisciplinary project is being undertaken in New Zealand to investigate the nature of occupational hearing loss and establish a national approach to prevent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in the country. The study builds on the work of Glenis Long whose has made an outstanding contribution to

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U.S. military to be honored during Tinnitus Week

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© Bruno Biasutto & J.Drahi

The American Tinnitus Association (ATA) will salute the U.S. military and veterans as part of National Tinnitus Awareness Week (TAW) which will be held May 19-23. Members of the military suffer from tinnitus disproportionately from the rest of the civilian population, according to the association. For the past five years, tinnitus has been

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Women Who Address Hearing Loss Enjoy Better Quality of Life

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© Héctor Landaeta

Addressing hearing loss helps women stay physically, cognitively, and socially active, according to the Better Hearing Institute (BHI).

Research shows that hearing loss is frequently associated with other physical, mental, and emotional health conditions, and that women who address their hearing loss often experience

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Automatic subtitling of YouTube aids interaction with deaf users

The popular video sharing site YouTube now has an automatic subtitling feature which boosts the multimedia experience for deaf users. Since November, the web site has subtitling available in ten languages. The already-in-use English, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish have been joined by German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Dutch. The subtitling feature

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May is Better Hearing and Speech Month

“Helping people communicate” will be the theme of this year’s Better Hearing and Speech Month in the United States. “Communication disorders decrease quality of life, across all ethnic and socioeconomic lines, and impose a significant social and economic burden upon individuals, their families, and the communities in which they live,” says James F. Battey, Jr, Director

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Hearing help out of reach for most in Pakistan

The prevalence of hearing loss in Pakistan is 1.6 percent per 1,000 population and rising, according to an ENT surgeon at Allama Iqubal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital. Professor Rashid Zia says that 70% of the country’s population is facing challenges of hereditary hearing loss. The WHO estimates that 278 million people worldwide have a disabling hearing impairment and this could increase

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New York Times editor lied about hearing loss: Book

Katherine Bouton got tired of lying about her hearing loss and faking her way through life. A former editor at the New York times, Bouton, 65, has documented her struggles in a new book, Shouting Won’t Help: Why I – and 50 Million Other Americans – Can’t Hear You.

Today, she routinely lets people know that she is profoundly deaf in one ear and very

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Noise induced hearing loss

Permanent, noise-induced hearing loss is the chief health hazard in occupational and recreational situations, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Of the 30 million reported cases of hearing loss in the United States, one third is related to noise exposure. Noise-induced hearing loss involves the degeneration and irreparable loss of cochlear hair cells, which leads to auditory threshold deterioration. Noise can act as a mechanical stressor by overstretching inner ear tissues. If noise is too intense, it can also lead to vascular constriction, which reduces

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