Clapway: deafness

Monday, August 10, 2015

Ignoring Hearing Loss Can Lead to Depression - http://clapway.com/2015/08/10/ignoring-hearing-loss-can-lead-to-depression123/

According to a study by the National Council on Aging, untreated hearing loss can lead to depression. The study showed that those who didn’t take advantage of hearing technology were 50 percent more likely to have anxiety and depression. The research was conducted with around 2,000 people with hearing problems.

The Neglect of Hearing Loss

It is a known fact, that hearing loss goes untreated for many individuals. Although there has been numerous innovative technological advancements, in an effort to better help hard of hearing people, most people between the ages of 20 and 60 push off getting their hearing loss checked. Data from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) shows about one in three people with difficulty hearing , in the age group of 70 and above, have never tried to use a hearing-aid.

The Correlation Between Hearing Loss and Depression

Dr. David Myers, a psychology professor at Hope College in Michigan, stated that “ anger, frustration, depression, and anxiety are all common among people who find themselves hard of hearing.” Loss of hearing can also result in a difficult social life and a constant worry of missing out on life. “Many hard of hearing people battle silently with their invisible hearing difficulties, straining to stay connected to the world around them, reluctant to seek help,” says Myers. These people no longer have complete control over their lives and increase their chances of emotional distress or healthy cognitive functions.

Technology Can Help Counteract Effects of Hearing Loss

At the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, a presentation revealed that hearing aids can help decrease anxiety and depression within hard hearing people. Also, they can help improve cognitive functions. Hearing technology helps people feel less alone, less apprehensive, and less pessimistic.

Loop technology is the newest technological advancement for hearing loss. The technology mimics WiFi and delivers sound signals directly to hearing aids. “Getting people to use the latest in hearing aid technology can help them regain control of their life and achieve emotional stability and even better cognitive functioning,” says Myers.Currently, loop technology is installed in public spaces in Great Britain and Scandinavia.

The original Penny Skateboard has been put to the test on Clapway TV. According to Ben Mackay, the founder of Penny Skateboards, skateboarding can be “terrifying,” “exhilarating” and “blissful” all at the same time.

Ignoring Hearing Loss Can Lead to Depression

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Gene Therapy Could Be the Key to Deafness - http://clapway.com/2015/07/09/gene-therapy-could-be-the-key-to-deafness798/

A study published in the Journal Science Translation Medicine has discussed the successful restoration of hearing in mice with genetic forms of deafness by using gene therapy. The research offers hope for children born with genes that cause profound hearing loss.

70 DIFFERENT GENES CAN RESULT IN DEAFNESS

This has opened the doors for researchers to try the same on humans. More than 70 different defective genes are known to result in deafness. The scientists in this study focused on one gene called the TCM1. It is responsible for between 4-8 percent of cases of deafness and plays a central role in hearing by coding for important inner ear protein.

HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL’S GENE THERAPY PROTOCOL ISN’T READY

Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School has said that their gene therapy protocol isn’t prepared for clinical trials. They need to tweak it a little in order to use it but there are sure that this could be used for therapeutic use in humans.

GENE THERAPY TESTED IN TWO TYPES OF MICE

The researchers tested gene therapy in two types of mutant mice. One type of mice had the TMC1 gene completely deleted and is the perfect model for the recessive TCM1 mutations in humans. Children who have two mutant copies of TCM1 have acute hearing loss from a young age, around two years old. This treatment was tested on two strains of mutant mice, representing different forms of TCM1-related deafness in humans. One mouse had no functioning TCM1 gene, and children with this kind of recessive genetic defect go deaf from a very young age.

The other strain, called Beethoven, had a less common form of TCM1 deafness caused by one copy of the paired genes not working. This “dominant” defect causes children to go deaf gradually from between the ages of 10 to 15.

In the recessive deafness, gene therapy with TCM1 restored the ability of sensory hairs to respond to sound producing a measurable electrical current and restored activity to the auditory part of the brainstem. In the dominant deafness model, gene therapy with a related gene, TCM2 was a success at the cellular and brain level and restored hearing partially, as proven in the startle test.

The researchers of this study have envisioned that deaf patients will have their genome sequenced and a precision medicine treatment injected into the ears to restore hearing. This form of therapy and restoration of hearing might be the replacement for the traditional cochlear implant.

Researchers restored the hearing of deaf mice by injecting a virus with the healthy gene into their inner ears. This gene therapy cure was successfully tested and could be offered to human patients in a little under five years.

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Gene Therapy Could Be the Key to Deafness