Hearing impairment future or investigational therapies
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Hearing impairment Microchapters |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Hearing impairment On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Hearing impairment |
Overview
Future or Investigational Therapies
Many hearing impaired individuals use certain assistive devices in their daily lives. Individuals can communicate by telephone using telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD). This device looks like a typewriter or word processor and transmits typed text over the telephone. Other names in common use are textphone and minicom. A videophone can be used for distance communication using sign language. In 2004, mobile textphone devices came onto the market for the first time allowing simultaneous two way text communication. In the U.S., the UK, the Netherlands and many other western countries there are telephone relay services so that a hearing impaired person can communicate with a hearing person via a human translator. Wireless, internet and mobile phone/SMS text messaging are beginning to take over the role of the TDD. Other assistive devices include those that use flashing lights to signal events such as a ringing telephone, a doorbell, or a fire alarm. Video conferencing is also a new technology that permits signed conversations as well as permitting an ASL-English interpreter to voice and sign conversations between a hearing impaired and hearing person, negating the need to use a TTY or computer keyboard.
Gene therapy
In 2005, there was success of the regrowth of cochlea cells in test subjects by a research team led by Dr. Yehoash Raphael from the University of Michigan. This study was conducted using guinea pigs as test subjects. [1] It is important to note however, that the regrowth of cochlear hair cells does not imply the restoration of hearing sensitivity as the sensory cells may or may not make connections with neurons that carry the signals from hair cells to the brain.
A team led by Dr. Stefan Heller from Stanford University are pioneering stem cell research in the prospect of regrowth in cochlea cells.[2]