A Cure

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Or is She can. ;)
 
Perhaps the answer to the illusive cure for deafness- have cats/skunks/ferrets/guinea pigs/gorillas? "study the matter"! At least NOT "man made cure"!

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
 
deafgal001 said:
where I live, skunks get hit by cars all the time. and WHEW they really stink!!!!!!!
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I agree! Its sad to see lots of stinky dead skunks around here. I think they are adorable but stinky! haha but wish they were not hit by cars. =?

deafgal001 said:
FF really have that magic meow, sooo cute. It make me want to learn more ASL too
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Awww if you hang out with the rest of us on AD then you would pick up ASL faster than you thought. I believe so.. Meow! hahaha
 
Future Developments
Research in the molecular biology of hearing loss could deliver low-cost tools based on DNA chips to screen populations for the most common gene mutations causing deafness. DNA sequences that render certain persons susceptible to environmental agents (e.g., noise and ototoxic drugs) causing deafness may emerge, and molecular markers identifying the children at greatest risk for the development of a hearing loss in later life may be discovered. The possibility of treating deafness by triggering hair-cell regeneration or through stem-cell therapy remains an elusive goal at present but is likely to become a reality in the decades ahead. Cochlear implants are likely to become multi-functional, combining drug-delivery (e.g., neurotrophic factors) and cell-delivery capabilities to rescue spiral ganglion cells or even generate new ones; innovations in design will allow better encoding of temporal fine structure, improving speech perception against background noise and the ability to enjoy music. Hearing conserva- tion through cochlear implantation should allow the synergistic combination of acoustical and electrical stimulation of the same ear; further technological advances will probably improve the outcome of implantation. Objective markers of brain maturation or response to complex sounds (e.g., with the use of electroencephalo- graphic measures) may guide future decisions about candidacy for cochlear implantation. Actively harnessing the brain’s computational capacity through the development of multimodal cognitive “brain training” exercises will probably further enhance outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that auditory brain-stem implantation may be of value in children who do not have cochlear nerves.
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From Profound Deafness in Childhood, The New England Journal of Medicine, Oct 7, 2010, Andrej Kral, M.D., Ph.D., and Gerard M. O’Donoghue, M.D.

This is just a small clip from an article that tackles a broad range of issues facing children with profound hearing loss. Interesting commentary on educational choices as well, but that would take us way off topic, and I want to stick with cures and cats here.
 
GrendelQ said:
From Profound Deafness in Childhood, The New England Journal of Medicine, Oct 7, 2010, Andrej Kral, M.D., Ph.D., and Gerard M. O’Donoghue, M.D.

This is just a small clip from an article that tackles a broad range of issues facing children with profound hearing loss. Interesting commentary on educational choices as well, but that would take us way off topic, and I want to stick with cures and cats here.
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Well, sticking to animals at least....the article reads like a whole bunch of 'guinea pig' nonsense to me :eek3: :laugh2:
 
drphil said:
Perhaps the answer to the illusive cure for deafness- have cats/skunks/ferrets/guinea pigs/gorillas? "study the matter"! At least NOT "man made cure"!

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
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So true :lol: - I'll stick with cats, thanks.
 
GrendelQ said:
From Profound Deafness in Childhood, The New England Journal of Medicine, Oct 7, 2010, Andrej Kral, M.D., Ph.D., and Gerard M. O’Donoghue, M.D.

This is just a small clip from an article that tackles a broad range of issues facing children with profound hearing loss. Interesting commentary on educational choices as well, but that would take us way off topic, and I want to stick with cures and cats here.
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Regarding the clip: :eek3:!
They make deafness sound so horrible that it must be avoided AT ALL COSTS. Whoa.
 
BecLak said:
Well, sticking to animals at least....the article reads like a whole bunch of 'guinea pig' nonsense to me :eek3: :laugh2:
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There are plenty of adults who wish to improve their hearing. They have been willing to undergo testing and procedures to try to improve their hearing and it has been of great benefit to so many others. I don't think it makes them guinea pigs, I think it makes them pioneers.
 
BecLak said:
Well, sticking to animals at least....the article reads like a whole bunch of 'guinea pig' nonsense to me :eek3: :laugh2:
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This is what I took away as near-term developments in treating, preventing, "curing" deafness:
  1. Tools that will more easily ID genetic causes of deafness
  2. Measures that flag people susceptible to noise and ototoxic drug damage BEFORE deafness occurs
  3. Markers that ID those likely to become late-deafened
  4. Improved cochlear implants that not only provide more access to better sound, but also combine drug-therapy and cell-delivery to repair damage (to rescue spiral ganglion cells or even generate new ones)
  5. Synergistic use of CI tech and natural ear functions together
  6. Different set of candidacy procedures for CIs using EEG
  7. Multimodal cognitive “brain training” exercises
  8. Increased auditory brain-stem implantation
  9. Hair-cell regeneration and/or stem-cell therapy (a more distant development in the next few decades)
 
Beowulf said:
Regarding the clip: :eek3:!
They make deafness sound so horrible that it must be avoided AT ALL COSTS. Whoa.
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Why would you want to purposely damage your hearing when it could be avoided? Many other the things listed in the article are to prevent or remediate damage done to hearing (not cure people born deaf).
 
faire_jour said:
Why would you want to purposely damage your hearing when it could be avoided? Many other the things listed in the article are to prevent or remediate damage done to hearing (not cure people born deaf).
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:confused:
Where does the article say anything about purposely damaging one's hearing?
 
Beowulf said:
Regarding the clip: :eek3:!
They make deafness sound so horrible that it must be avoided AT ALL COSTS. Whoa.
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I didn't read that in this particular clip at all, it's just a laundry list of developments in the works.

But, I do think you might read that in the lead paragraph of the article. It begins with a bit more urgency / concern about the impact of deafness on profoundly deaf children.

In childhood, profound hearing loss (a hearing level of >90 dB)
has far-reaching, lifelong consequences for children and their families. The most striking effect of profound hearing loss is the lack of development of spoken language, with its impact on daily communication; this, in turn, restricts learning and literacy, substantially compromising educational achievement and later employment opportunities. There is a high prevalence of psychosocial problems among deaf children. Fortunately, recent interdisciplinary developments are transforming outcomes, offering many more opportunities for deaf children. Recent advances suggest that deafness may be considered a model system for understanding neurosensory restoration.
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GrendelQ said:
This is what I took away as near-term developments in treating, preventing, "curing" deafness:
  1. Tools that will more easily ID genetic causes of deafness
  2. Measures that flag people susceptible to noise and ototoxic drug damage BEFORE deafness occurs
  3. Markers that ID those likely to become late-deafened
  4. Improved cochlear implants that not only provide more access to better sound, but also combine drug-therapy and cell-delivery to repair damage (to rescue spiral ganglion cells or even generate new ones)
  5. Synergistic use of CI tech and natural ear functions together
  6. Different set of candidacy procedures for CIs using EEG
  7. Multimodal cognitive “brain training” exercises
  8. Increased auditory brain-stem implantation
  9. Hair-cell regeneration and/or stem-cell therapy (a more distant development in the next few decades)
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I LOVE what they are doing with CI candidacy and brain waves. I am talking to a researcher in Colorado who is studying CAERs (central auditory evoked responses). They have the ability to put a cap with electrodes on a persons head and play a repetitive sound (bah, bah, bah) and measure the auditory cortex's response to that sound. If the response is within the "appropriate range" there is a very high correlation between that score and the ability to understand and use fluent spoken language (greater than .8). They use the test to measure whether or not a child is getting enough benefit from hearing aids! Now they can avoid long waiting periods for CI's and test "borderline candidates such as those who have AN or help decide about bi-laterals!
 
Hmmm. This might sound off the wall, but let me tell you a true story. Long ago I had a friend who was an astrologer. She was really into it, making charts in deep detail, the works. One day she went to a symposium where a famous astrologer from another country was to guest-speak. She took him aside and showed him my chart, giving him absolutely no other information at all. He looked at the chart briefly and told her that I am deaf. The long and short of it is that I absolutely believe and trust her, that she did not tell him anything about me. To me, it means that it is simply my FATE to be deaf, and that I must accept it in this life.
Told you it would be off the wall, but there you have it, lol.
 
Beowulf said:
:confused:
Where does the article say anything about purposely damaging one's hearing?
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Because if you know you (or someone you love) is at high risk for hearing loss (through these tests), you can be extra vigilant to avoid the medications or other causes.
 
faire_jour said:
Because if you know you (or someone you love) is at high risk for hearing loss (through these tests), you can be extra vigilant to avoid the medications or other causes.
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You mean like while operating a powerful table saw, worry more about your hearing than your fingers?
 
Beowulf said:
You mean like while operating a powerful table saw, worry more about your hearing than your fingers?
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I was thinking more like not using certain drugs in treatment known to cause deafness in patients with specific risk factors if I'm flagged as one of those with a high risk.
 
GrendelQ said:
I was thinking more like not using certain drugs in treatment known to cause deafness in patients with specific risk factors if I'm flagged as one of those with a high risk.
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I understand. When I was two years old I was given a drug (I forget the name) to combat pneumonia and it killed the hair cells in my ears, and I became deaf. I doubt they use that drug any longer. At least I hope not.
 
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