Partially deaf BBC dancer gets breakthrough underwater hearing aid

A partially deaf dancer is one of the first in the UK to wear a new waterproof hearing aid reports the Sutton Guardian (10/01/12).

Kirsty Swain, 30, from Hackbridge, finished fourth in the BBC talent show, So You Think You Can Dance, this summer.

She has now been unveiled as one of the first people in the UK to wear the Siemens waterproof and shock resistant hearing instrument, Aquaris.

The hearing instrument has opened up a whole new world to the jazz dancer who has spoken out against the stigma associated with hearing loss.

As a child she was excluded and embarrassed to wear her hearing aids and her active lifestyle as a dancer, teacher and performer has posed a number of issues.
Unable to find a hearing aid that could withstand the sweat and rigours of dancing, she preferred to dance without.

As a result, her dancing career has been shaped by the struggle to hear rhythm and she has learnt to dance by music vibrations and copying others to pick up routines.

She said: “I have had trouble in the past with hearing instruments getting sweaty, slipping and being uncomfortable when exercising, but with the Aquaris I can run along hearing everything, without the slightest problem. “I’ve been swimming with it and couldn’t believe how amazing it was. I could hear people standing beside the pool chatting as I swam underwater, more than most people, which made me feel quite special.

“Aquaris is absolutely brilliant. It adjusts to any situation I am in whether it’s the bar, the studio, on stage or watching TV on the couch. I can also swim, dance, run and jump in the shower without thinking. When I’m in the studio, I am able to hear the music and teacher’s voice clearer than ever before.”

She was also fitted with a miniTek, which uses Bluetooth technology to wirelessly communicate sound between her Aquaris hearing instrument and television, mobile phone and MP3 player.

Anne Diamond: Thirty years of wearing an earpiece for television has made me deaf

She’s one of Britain’s best-known television presenters, but Anne Diamond has admitted that using earpieces for nearly 30 years has left her deaf in one ear writes Ted Thornhill for the Daily Mail (03/01/12).

She made the startling revelation on a video she recorded for the website of charity Action On Hearing Loss.

She describes how having her ‘talkback’ devices – through which directors communicate with hosts – turned up too loudly have taken their toll on her hearing.

The 57-year-old, who rose to fame in the 1980s presenting Good Morning Britain for TV-am, said: ‘I have some form of hearing loss right now, after 25, nearly 30 years of wearing a television earpiece. It’s what we call a talkback and I’ve always had it rather too loud.

‘While I don’t need to wear a hearing aid right now, I have been warned that I probably will need one quite soon.’

She explains that around four million people in the UK have some form of hearing loss and would benefit from a hearing aid – but don’t do anything about it.

She said: ‘I can’t possibly imagine not being able to do the job I love, or even the simple everyday things like sitting round a family table and enjoying a meal and being able to listen to the conversation around me.’ Ms Diamond explained that the charity can be a huge help to those suffering from deafness.

She added: ‘They provide a simple, free hearing check that you can do in your own home, explain what to expect from your doctor, and make the whole world of hearing aids so much simpler.’

Ms Diamond was recently embroiled in a row with comedienne Dawn French, who she accused of having gastric band surgery to lose weight.

Diamond herself had the procedure in 2006 and speculated that French's 'astonishing transformation' could have been the result of undergoing the operation.

However, French simply told Diamond to 'shut up'.

There are also video messages on the charity’s site from One Foot In The Grave stars Richard Wilson and Annette Crosbie, EastEnders' Rita Simons and Genevieve Barr, an actress who was born deaf. 

Ms Crosbie uses two hearing aids and said: ‘I know what it’s like to go slowly deaf.’

She emphasises that Action On Hearing Loss is working hard to remove the stigma attached to the wearing of hearing aids.

Deaf miss AIDS messages, say activists

RIGHTS activists have called for a programme to address HIV/AIDS among persons with hearing difficulties reports Francis Kagolo, of New Vision (23/09/11)


The activists said the deaf stood a high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS due to lack of knowledge.

The Uganda National Association for the Deaf (UNAD) advocacy coordinator, Joseph Mbulamwana, said of the over 700,000 deaf Ugandans, only about 10% could read and write.

This, he said, had limited their knowledge about the causes of HIV/AIDS, preventive measures and effective ways to live positively.

Mbulamwana said over 90% of the deaf shunned voluntary counselling and testing services due to lack of sign language interpreters at health facilities.

“There is a lot of information but it does not benefit the deaf. Many of them continue to be infected and miserably live with it unaware,” he said.

Mbulamwana added that the situation was getting worse as sections of the public thought the deaf were safe and run to them for unprotected sex.

Mbulamwana made the remarks in an interview with New Vision about this year’s national deaf week which started on Monday.

The celebrations, which are held every third week of September are meant to boost awareness about the problems faced by the deaf.

This year’s celebrations are going on in Ibanda district under the theme: “Are we Planning for the Deaf?”. They end on Friday.

Vision Group, in support of the deaf, offered UNAD free airtime in form of talk shows on Radio West, TV West and Bukedde TV to debate their grievances and advocate for the rights of the deaf. The talkshow on Bukedde TV, code named Akabbinkano was aired on Tuesday at 11:00pm.

The shows were meant to debate the grievances and advocate for rights of the deaf.

“It is hoped that after these shows, the population will be well aware of the problems faced by the deaf in trying to access their rights and that measures will be put in place,” said Doreen Pachuto Vision Group’s legal officer.

Stella Kentutsi, the executive director of the National Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS, said the deaf had not received the necessary attention.

Mbulamwana said despite the existence of favourable legislation, a number of institutions were reluctant to offer equal treatment to people with hearing impairment.

He cited the sh3b Government grant given annually to districts meant to help persons with disabilities, that in some cases went unutilised.

Pardon? Did you say Viagra can make you deaf?

From food allergies to tick bites, the unexpected threats to your hearing. Charlotte Dovey, Daily Mail reports (23/08/11)

We all know that some things can affect our hearing — working in a noisy environment, for instance, or diseases such as mumps and measles.
But recently, a lesser-known risk has surfaced; passive smokers have been found to be twice as likely as other people to suffer from hearing loss.

It's thought Viagra or similar drugs, which increase blood 

flow to certain tissues in the body may have a similar effect 

on tissue in the ear

Sensorineural hearing loss, which usually occurs with age, is caused by damage to the sensory cells of the cochlea, the snail-shaped hearing organ of the ear that is responsible for converting the mechanical vibration of sound into electrical signals, which go on to be detected by the brain.
Passive smoking is thought to affect our hearing in a number of ways.
Nicotine and carbon monoxide from cigarettes can deplete oxygen supply to the ear. Nicotine also impairs the messages sent by neurotransmitters in the hearing nerve.

‘The ear is an extremely delicate organ and far more susceptible to damage than you might think,’ says David McAlpine, professor of auditory neuroscience and director of the University College London Ear Institute.
So what other unusual factors could also cause temporary or permanent hearing loss? We asked the experts...

VIAGRA

In an American study of more than 11,000 men who were more than 40 years old, those who took Viagra or a similar drug were twice as likely to report hearing loss as those who had not used the drug.
It’s thought these drugs, which increase blood flow to certain tissues in the body may have a similar effect on tissue in the ear, potentially causing damage that leads to permanent hearing loss, says Professor Gerald
McGwin, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.

STROKE

Generally caused when a blood clot obstructs blood supply to the brain, strokes can lead to paralysis, communication problems — and even problems with swallowing.
But if the stroke occurs in the front temporal lobe in the brain — the bit under your forehead (which deals with perception, hearing and memory), it can also cause hearing loss because the blood supply to the delicate inner ear is stopped, says Professor McAlpine.
Interestingly, sudden hearing loss could also be a warning sign of increased stroke risk.
Taiwanese researchers found that patients who suffered sudden significant hearing loss — developing rapidly within 72 hours — were one-and-a-half times more likely to have a stroke in the five subsequent years afterwards.
It’s thought the blood supply issues which caused the hearing loss could point to similar problems happening elsewhere.

DYSLEXIA

Most people think of dyslexia as a problem with reading, but a study published recently in the journal Science suggests it may also affect the brain’s ability to process sound.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found people with dyslexia have trouble recognising voices and matching them with the right faces.
Experts think this could explain why dyslexics can mix words up — rather than being a problem with understanding the meaning of words, it’s related to problems recognising the sounds of speech.

CHEMOTHERAPY

Platinum-based chemo drugs, such as cisplatin — used to treat testicular, ovarian and bladder cancers — can also cause hearing loss as a side-effect.
An Oregon Health and Science University study found that 61 per cent of 67 patients being treated with platinum-based chemotherapy suffered hearing loss — with average onset being 135 days after treatment.
‘The drugs damage the tiny cells in the inner ear that vibrate in response to sound waves,’ says Professor McAlpine.
‘This can lead to progressive, irreversible hearing loss, so cancer and ear specialists often work together monitoring hearing and changing drugs if necessary.’

FOOD ALLERGIES

Food allergies commonly trigger rashes, but can also affect your hearing. In a study carried out at Georgetown University School of Medicine, 78 per cent of those suffering from otitis media (or ‘glue ear’) suffered from a food allergy.
‘Glue ear is particularly common in children,’ says George Murty, consultant ear, nose and throat specialist at University Hospital Leicester.
‘Normally, the space behind the eardrum — which allows the transmission of sound, is filled with air, but with an allergic reaction, where the immune system goes haywire, it can fill up with fluid.
‘When the allergy eases, the fluid generally drains out, but this doesn’t drain particularly well in children. Antibiotics or a small operation are sufficient to ease the problem.’

TICK BITES

Tick bites can spread Lyme Disease, an increasingly common infection more likely to occur in spring and early summer.
Early symptoms include a rash, flu-like symptoms and joint pain.
It is diagnosed with a blood test, however if the condition is untreated, within a week or so chronic symptoms such as hearing loss, headaches, muscle pain and dizziness can occur. It’s thought the hearing loss occurs as a result of the bacterial infection damaging the sensitive inner ear.
‘Treated with antibiotics, the hearing problems are reversible — there should be an improvement within a few weeks,’ says Mr Murty.

ANTIBIOTICS

A type of antibiotics known as aminoglycosides — used to treat severe infections such as tuberculosis or septicaemia — can strip out hair cells in the inner ear, causing permanent hearing problems says Professor McAlpine.
A study at the Institute of Child Health, London, found some patients may have a genetic mutation making them even more prone to suffer hearing loss after taking these antibiotics.
About one in 40,000 people in the UK have this mutation, which causes around five per cent of deafness in children in the UK.
Families carrying this mutation, may develop some degree of deafness later in life.

SHINGLES

This painful condition — caused by the herpes varicella zoster virus — is an infection of the nerve and the area of skin around it.
‘Although the chest is most commonly affected, sometimes it affects the nerves in the head — including the hearing nerves — a condition known as Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome,’ says Mr Murty.
Along with hearing loss this can lead to paralysis of the face (Bell’s Palsy), dizziness and vertigo.
It’s important to start the treatment as soon as possible. Even a delay of only a few days in starting treatment could result in hearing loss, affecting around one in 20 people who have the condition.

MALARIA DRUGS

Everyone knows the importance of taking anti-malarial drugs, but one type in particular — quinine — has a rare but unpleasant side-effect. Given to hundreds of thousands of people each year, quinine can also cause hearing loss.
Although it’s rare and caused by an extreme reaction to the drug, it can go on to damage the sensory hairs on the cochlea, disrupting the electrical impulses to the brain, which normally enable us to hear, says Mr Murty.

DIABETES

Hearing loss linked to diabetes is more common you might think.
‘Just as diabetes can damage the nerves and blood vessels throughout the body — it may also occur in the ear,’ says Professor McAlpine.
More complications include foot ulcers and heart disease and retinopathy, where blood vessels in the retina of the eye become blocked.
Visit deafnessresearch.org.uk

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