hearing

Is Everybody Mumbling? Try A Hearing Test You Take On The Phone

6:39pm December 21, 2015

by Ina Jaffe

Testing your hearing is just a phone call away. Doctors hope a cheap, simple at-home test will encourage more people to get their hearing checked, and get help if they need it.

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Sam Swiller and his dog, Sully, in their home in Washington, D.C.

Deaf Jam: Experiencing Music Through A Cochlear Implant

12:16pm May 18, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

After swapping hearing aids for a cochlear implant, Sam Swiller's taste in music shifted dramatically, from grunge rock to folk. Now scientists are trying to improve how implants relay music.

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For more than 30 years, Marion Downs pushed for newborns to be screened for hearing loss soon after birth.

Remembering The Pioneering Audiologist Who Tested Hearing At Birth

4:03pm December 29, 2014

by Becky Sullivan

Until the early '90s, young children often weren't tested for hearing loss until they had already missed out on a critical period for learning language. Dr. Marion Downs was determined to change that.

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Pages from El Deafo by Cece Bell. Click here to enlarge.

Books
Arts

'El Deafo': How A Girl Turned Her Disability Into A Superpower

1:59pm December 15, 2014

by NPR Staff

Navigating elementary school is already hard enough — try adding in a bulky metal hearing aid. Cece Bell's new young adult graphic memoir captures the experience in a poignant and humorous way.

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Researchers speculate that the Omega-3 fatty acids in fish may help maintain good blood flow to the inner ear.

Women Who Eat Fish Twice Weekly Cut Their Risk Of Hearing Loss

4:56pm September 10, 2014

by Allison Aubrey

Something as simple as eating fish can help lower the risk of hearing loss, researchers say. All types of fish helped. And since many people don't eat fish at all, there's an opportunity here.