Hearing Review Episode 4 - 12/10/10

Hello and welcome to this episode of Hearing Review, TV
-your all access pass to all things hearing. I'm Gina Ninemire.
If you're struggling to find a ride to your hearing assessments,
you can sit back and relax because diagnostic hearing assessments may be coming to a location near you.
In Greenville, NC at East Carolina University, or ETU,
a team of creators have reportedly introduced the first real-time, remote hearing assessment that allows interaction between the clinician and patient.
According to Dr. Gregg Givens, the chairman of the Department of Communication Science,
"There are people throughout the world who have no access to professional hearing health care.
This low-cost development will prove especially encouraging for rural and low-income populations.
The National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders estimate that a mere one in five people who could benefit from a hearing aid, actually wear one.
ETU has teamed up with Otovation--a leading provider of audiometer products,
and they are working together to make this low-cost development available as early as mid-2011.
The good news is this hearing assessments will be suitable for a variety of settings including nursing homes,
schools, hospitals, correctional facilities and military settings.
Today's broadcast is brought to you by ReSound Alera, the world's first truly wireless hearing aid.
Better noise reduction, better environmental control, better feedback management.
The best sound quality on record. Easy to fit, easy to wear.
For more information on Alera, visit www.gnresound.com.
Out of Salt Lake City, Otix Global has announced adoption of the board's proposal to merge with Danish company, William Demant Holding.
After an exciting, big numbers bidding war between the Denmark-based GN Store Nord,
in which William Demant ultimately prevailed by matching GN's bid at $64.2 million.
Since that announcement, William Demant and Otix Global have received antitrust clearance
from the US Federal Trade Commission, as expected.
In a November 30th press release, William Demant stated,
%u201CConsequently, all conditions in the binding, conditional merger agreement between a wholly-owned legal entity
in the William Demant Group and Otix Global, Inc. are met, and the closing of the transaction is completed today.
Otix stockholders will receive, after closing, a total settlement
corresponding to a price of $11.01 per share of stock.
And if numbers aren't your thing, how about Neuroscience?
In Cold Harbor Spring, NY, a team of scientists led by Dr. Anthony Zador,
the chair of the Neuroscience program at Cold Harbor Laboratory,
has come closer to understanding how the "hearing center of the brain"
which is more formally known as the auditory cortex, initiates responses to sound.
The scientists probed how the relationships between distinct neuron populations
within the auditory cortex create "map" of acoustic space.
For those of you watching whose day job isn't neurology,
it's important to note that the neuronal organizations in the auditory cortex
function differently than those within the brain regions that process inputs like sight and sensation.
In the auditory system, the organization in the cochlea--
the sound receptors--are one-dimensional.
The receptors near the outer ear recognize the low-frequency sounds
and the receptors near the inside hear the higher frequency sounds.
This low-to-high distribution is called 'tonotopy.'
Zador's team isolated neurons from both the inner and outer cochlea,
each to pick up the same frequency.
The scientists were surprised to find this was not the case,
but rather a dominant input signal didn't come from within the neuron's respected region
but rather from outside it.
Catch Dr. Zador and his team's findings online
ahead of print in "Nature Neuroscience."
Meanwhile in people news, Ontario, Canada's Unitron has announced the appointment of Eric Sumner
as vice president of sales for Unitron US.
And in New Jersey, Oticon has just celebrated the 13th annual "Focus on People" Awards.
Over the past 13 years, the company has brought recognition to over 195 extraordinary people
who defy the stigma of hearing loss.
This year, the panel selected individuals whose courage,
vision and commitment to changing the perception
of what it means to have a hearing loss.
This year's winners are Jim Detterline in the Adult category,
Bill Rogers in the Advocacy Category,
Eleven year old Hayleigh Scott in the Student Category, and Jaqueline Rogers in the Practitioner Category.
And now on a more somber note,
Hearing Review TV would like to take this moment to celebrate the life of Westone founder, Ronald W. Morgan Senior,
who passed away on October 4th, after a brief illness.
Morgan and his wife Mickey started Westone on their kitchen table in 1959.
With the help of their five sons, the Colorado based company
has gone on to become one of the most highly regarded names
in the hearing healthcare industry.
Morgan is survived by his wife, his brother Lewis Morgan and his sons Rusty, Rick, Rod and Robin.
Well, there's no place like home,
especially if your home is being featured on ABC's "Extreme Makeover Home Edition."
Starkey Hearing Foundation teamed up with ABC in a very special episode
featuring the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem Oregon.
The Starkey Hearing Foundation fit more than 500 free hearing aids
to students, family members and staff for the school.
The episode, which aired on October 31st is viewable online at abc.com.
Break out your video camera, because Resound Alera is launching its own Youtube contest.
ReSound is inviting Audiologists to record and submit a short two-minute video
of themselves or one of their patients talking about their experiences with
ReSound's newly released Alera wireless hearing aid.
The video that receives the most views on the ReSound YouTube Channel
will win a trip for two to Madrid, Spain or Nassau, Bahamas.
For more information on the contest, which ends December 31, please visit www.gnresound.com.
Today's broadcast is brought to you by Resound Alera,
the world's first truly wireless hearing aid.
We hope you enjoyed watching and listening to this edition of Hearing Review TV.
For more information on these and other stories please visit Hearingreview.com.