It’s summertime and for many that means vacation, and vacations often mean flying. As millions of Americans prepare to take flight this summer, taking care of you ears and hearing health ranks top on the list of things to remember.

According to a survey conducted by Deafness Research UK, 70% of those who fly will experience some kind of health-related problem and ear pain ranks number one, with a whopping 34% experiencing ear pain during a flight. Many ear problems are avoidable with good ear hygiene and regular check-ups,  Once on the plane, there are things you can do to minimize ear pain if you are unlucky enough to suffer any discomfort.

According to Vivienne Michael, CEO of Deafness Research UK, “Ear pain in the air can ruin many people’s holiday before it has even started. More worryingly, it can lead to much more serious hearing problems in people who have a bad cold when they fly. We want holiday-makers and regular flyers to be aware of how common this is and the simple things you can do, like yawning or swallowing regularly, to ease the pain.’ Most discomfort results from changes in cabin pressure and these are most noticeable as the aircraft descends. During descent, the air in the middle ear is at a lower pressure than the air in the cabin. The Eustachian tubes, which pass air from the nose into the middle ear when you swallow, may become blocked with mucus, and the small muscles in the throat which normally open them may not be able to do so. The eardrum is pressed inward and tensed, resulting in discomfort, and even pain.”

The top ten most common minor medical problems people experience while flying are:
1. Ear pain (34.3%)
2. Swollen feet or ankles (18.8%)
3. Aching joints or muscles (18.8% – as above)
4. Stress, anxiety or ‘air rage’ (14.9%)
5. Dehydration (10.1%)
6. Extreme fatigue (8.1%)
7. Dizziness or fainting (5.5%)
8. Sickness or nausea (4.9%)
9. Toothache (2.5%)
10. Hyperventilation (2.5%)
(28.6% of people have never experienced a medical problem while flying).

Brent Curtis – Editor

Students from Carnegie Mellon University have come up with a novel idea of a glove named Handtalk that converts hand movements into text,  allowing the deaf to better express themselves.

A long way from being perfected, Handtalk glove is worn on the hand by the deaf or mute person and depending on the variation of movement, the device will convert it intelligently into text and display it on a mobile phone for the another person to read.

The high-tech glove senses movements through flexor pads which detect the different patterns of motion and the way the finger curls. The device can sense carefully each resistance and each movement made by the hand. Currently the device can convert only 32 words, but depending on the success of this device few more additional words may be added later onto this expressive system.

Designed for individuals who cannot interpret American Sign Language the glove along with their cell phone would allow for rudimentary communication. Senior computer engineering students Bhargav Bhat, Hemant Sikaria and Jorge L. Meza , demonstrated the prototype May 8th at Carnegie Mellon’s “Meeting of the Minds” expo of undergraduate research projects. The Handtalk glove could be a big advantage” for hearing-impaired people, Mr. Bhat said. “It would cut out the need for an interpreter.”

The glove works in a unique way. When it is first held in the fist it greets ‘Good morning’ and when one extends the index finger, second finger and thumb, the device responds ‘I’m having a good time’ and hold out the index finger, little finger and thumb, The Handtalk glove will courteously respond as ‘Thank you for your time’. The inventors of this device give us a strong hope that this polite and humble invention can reach the hands of the needy as soon as possible.

Brent Curtis – Editor

Michael Seidman, MD and colleagues are conducting a clinical trial on the effectiveness of electrodes implanted directly into the human brain for the treatment of severe, disabling tinnitus. He has implanted the first two patients in a projected series of twelve surgeries. Results of the first two surgeries were reported in the March, 2008 issue of The Laryngoscope. The study is closed as all twelve participants have been chosen.

Patient 1 was a 50 year old male with hearing loss as the primary cause of tinnitus. The result of the surgery was sustained reduction to near elimination of tinnitus. Patient 2 was a 40 year old female who suffered tinnitus as a result of a motor vehicle accident. The surgery resulted in an unsustained reduction of tinnitus. The researchers have concluded that the perception and annoyance of tinnitus may be modulated or reduced through electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex.

A previous article on electrical stimulation can be seen in our Tinnitus Library. Interested people can sign up for our free monthly email newsletter, Quiet Times, located in the right-hand column of our homepage. The complete article on Electrical Stimulation for Tinnitus Treatment will be broadcast in the July, 2008 issue.

Barry Keate

An article from Media-Newswire.com reports that a professor of audiology and molecular pharmacology (who has tinnitus) is conducting research on, of all things, zebrafish, to learn if it is possible repair damaged hair cells of the ear. Ernest Moore, who teaches at Northwestern University, developed tinnitus twenty years ago in the US Army from exposure to artillery explosions and the crack of rifle fire (similar to Arches’ Barry Keate). 

Zebrafish have ears that are remarkably similar to humans. By exposing them to drugs that induce tinnitus, he then tracks their erratic swimming patterns on video. Moore then looks at the cells in their ears to see if the electrical firing has increased, an early sign of damage and tinnitus.  His early findings show an increased firing.

Then Moore attempts to block this effect with drugs to return the cells to their normal activity. In preliminary research, it appears the drugs he has tested do slow down the increased electrical firing or tinnitus-like behavior of the hair cells in the ear.

“If these drugs are found to be safe, and some are already on the market for other uses, and if they are found to have efficacy in humans, then they might be used to treat an individual’s tinnitus,” Moore said.

“If the hair cell is not totally damaged; just beginning to break down, and you administer these drugs, you might be able to prevent it from further damage and interfere with the cells’ ability to generate tinnitus,” Moore explained.

Based on his research Moore hopes to conduct clinical trials on humans to learn if these drugs may prove effective on patients with tinnitus. The  US Department of Defense has opened $50 million of funds for research on tinnitus due to the growing presence of hearing-related injuries now seen from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Moore has applied to launch the clinical trial with the drugs he has used with the zebrafish.

Half of the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan exposed to explosive devices suffer from tinnitus. The major cause is exposure to loud noises, which can damage and destroy hair cells of the inner ear. It’s the number one war-related disability. This new funding increase is an important if belated acknowledgement by the US government for the need for more research. Despite the widespread suffering, there has only been $3 million allotted for public and private research.

Brent Curtis – Editor