A deaf football player was sent off after celebrating an offside goal because he couldn’t hear the whistle.

Philip John Dolan, who plays for the Great Britain and Scotland deaf football teams, was playing for Kilsyth against Armadale in a replay of a Scottish Junior Cup tie when the referee ruled him offside.

Unable to hear the whistle, the 24-year-old, who is known as PJ, kept playing and was given a yellow card for ignoring the signal.

PJ only noticed he had been booked after he had put the ball past the goalie and turned round to ­celebrate.

You can read the complete article on dailyrecord.co.uk.

Providing clues to deafness, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a gene that is required for proper development of the mouse inner ear.

In humans, this gene, known as FGF20, is located in a portion of the genome that has been associated with inherited deafness in otherwise healthy families.

“When we inactivated FGF20 in mice, we saw they were alive and healthy,” says senior author David M. Ornitz, MD, PhD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Developmental Biology. “But then we figured out that they had absolutely no ability to hear.”

The results, published online Jan. 3 in PLoS Biology, show that disabling the gene causes a loss of outer hair cells, a special type of sensory cell in the inner ear responsible for amplifying sound. While about two-thirds of the outer hair cells were missing in mice without FGF20, the number of inner hair cells, the cells responsible for transmitting the amplified signals to the brain, appeared normal.

“This is the first evidence that inner and outer hair cells develop independently of one another,” says first author Sung-Ho Huh, PhD, postdoctoral research associate. “This is important because most age-related and noise-induced hearing loss is due to the loss of outer hair cells.”

As such, Ornitz and Huh speculate that FGF20 signaling will be a required step toward the goal of regenerating outer hair cells in mammals, the only vertebrates incapable of such feats of hearing restoration.

You can read the original article in full here.

The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) is campaigning to get the UK government to provide better access to sign language courses for hearing parents of deaf children.

Nine out of ten deaf children are born to hearing families who have little to no experience of deafness. Communicating with your child is a basic right, but many families are not getting the support they need to learn British Sign Language. Sign language courses vary throughout the UK in regards to availability and price. It is unacceptable that parents of deaf children who wish to learn sign language are not getting the help they need to communicate with their child.

A survey run by NDCS in mid-2011 and found that 56% of local councils did not provide any services or support for parents of deaf children wanting to learn sign language, and those that did often required parents to pay for the course – which can cost up to £600.

A sign language course, developed by NDCS, was trialled in two regions in the UK in July 2011 and 83% of the 123 families who took part reported that they felt confident communicating with their deaf child, compared to 37% prior to the course. The hope is that the government can be persuaded to provide this course to families across the whole of the UK.

Want to help? If you would like to see UK-wide support for families of deaf kids then please sign the online petition.

Neurotone have just released a web-based version of their LACE training software, which is excellent news for anyone who wants to better understand speech in noise.

LACE (Listening And Communication Enhancement) is essentially a training program for listening, it teaches you to listen better. I did an interview with Dr Daniel Taft from Blamey Saunders Hearing about how they use LACE a while back. I think the release of the web-based version will make it easier for people to try LACE and get the benefit from it – it’s compatible with iPad and other mobile devices so you can train wherever you are. And being a bit of a nerd myself, it’s good to see them using HTML5 rather than Flash.

I’ve got a sign-up code for the online version and will be trying it out ASAP. I’ll let you know how the new version works on PC, iPod and iPad – and how much my listening ability improves.

Check it out for yourself on the Neurotone site.

I took our car into a garage for repair today. After dropping the keys off at the service desk I went and sat in their waiting room – it wasn’t really a room as such, just a ring of chairs in the corner of a large open-plan showroom. There were three of us sat in there. After about 15 minutes or so of waiting, the garage receptionist appeared at the opposite end of the waiting area to me and asked if anyone would like tea of coffee. I heard her every word. The other two waiting for their cars said they didn’t and the receptionist then looked over at me – it went like this:

me: I’d love a coffee, please.

her: Milk or sugar?

me: Just milk, thanks.

her: OK, won’t be a minute.

Nothing special there, except for one small thing: I heard every single word she said. I didn’t have to fill in the gaps that I didn’t hear. I didn’t have to pretend I’d heard. I’m hoping that I came across as a normal, sane human being during this conversation because even though I was sitting relaxed in my chair I was DOING CARTWHEELS OF PURE JOY inside! It’s rare that a conversation is that easy, at that distance too, in an open-plan room. While I was responding calmly with, “just milk, please” my brain was all HELL YEAH! and was doing imaginary fist pumps and high fives.

I’m finally getting settled in with my new AudioSync iSyncs and am reaping the benefits from them. To the people emailing me for an iSync review: Sorry, I’ve been lazy, but it’s coming!

Apple’s new iPhone 4 is just hitting the shelves here in the UK. One of its big selling points is its live video chat – you can see the person calling as well as hearing them. Apple have a new advert out showcasing this and amazingly it features two people using the phone to communicate using ASL and, not only that, it also pans around to the back of the guy’s head to show his hearing aid. Here it is:

I’m well impressed. Not only is this phone an incredibly useful gadget for those whose who sign, Apple have realised that they have a potentially massive deaf/hoh userbase and they aren’t scared to market to them. They’re sticking a communication product for the hearing impaired that is normally marketed in niche magazines and websites and putting it on prime-time TV. I feel like we’ve turned a corner.

We can also add this to the growing understanding and exposure in the media of hearing loss and the needs of the people that suffer from it. This may go some way to helping hearing aids be a bit cooler and less of an old people’s thing.

I guess this post sounds a bit like an Apple love-in but I was just plain shocked when I saw the advert for the first time. Feels like a big thing to me.

Is the guy signing in the advert Matt Damon? Sure looks like him.

Blamey & Saunders Hearing are a supplier of self-programmable hearing aids, they also sell Neurotone’s listening enhancement (LACE) software to compliment their hearing aid range. Dr. Daniel Taft, Australia Hears’ Chief Technology Officer, was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about LACE.

Can you give us a brief introduction to LACE?

[Daniel Taft] LACE stands for Listening And Communication Enhancement. It was designed by leading audiologists at the University of California at San Francisco. LACE is an adaptive, interactive aural rehabilitation program that people can perform on their own PC, on their DVD player, or in a clinic under the supervision of their audiologist.
In the same way that physiotherapy helps rebuild muscles and compensate for physical weakness or injury, LACE training is used to help people develop skills and strategies to deal with situations when their hearing is inadequate. It helps people who have just acquired hearing aids (and also others who simply struggle in difficult situations) to make the most of their hearing.

Do you think people always understand the need for it? Hearing loss is obviously associated with ears, is it difficult to show the need to improve your brain’s ability to listen too?

[Daniel Taft] I think it is harder for some people to realise that there are real benefits to improving cognitive skills, unlike say physical training where the benefits are more obvious. Many people feel that purchasing a hearing aid is all that is needed to regain full communication abilities, but that is often unrealistic – just as it would be with any new tool or prosthesis. Hearing and listening are subtly different; one is a sense, the other is a skill.

Neurotone Inc. have a saying that “you hear with your ears and listen with your brain”.

How long typically would someone use LACE for before they start to see benefits?

[Daniel Taft] Data from Neurotone shows that after ten 20-minutes sessions, LACE users increase their ability to hear speech in a noisy room by up to 33%. Even after one or two sessions, LACE shows users that they are actually hearing more than they gave themselves credit for. LACE also offers lots of communication tips that help improve communication – every three minutes a new hint pops up.

You sell self-programmable hearing aids, seems like LACE is a perfect partner as it gives people complete control over their hearing?

[Daniel Taft] We agree! If a person is willing to regain control of their own hearing, and purchase and program their own hearing aids at home, then they are prime candidates to benefit from LACE. These sorts of people have no trouble becoming active listeners. We think we provide the perfect platform for LACE training.

Are there any plans for a iPod/mobile version?

[Daniel Taft] I’m told that Neurotone are developing a web-based program that will be platform independent. For now, there are Mac and Windows versions of LACE, and a DVD player version too.

Thanks again to Daniel for answering my questions. You can find out more about Blamey & Saunders Hearing by going to their website. To read more about LACE, or to download the free demo, go to the Neurotone website.

The National Associations of the Deaf (NAD) have been given the go-ahead by a federal court in Massachusetts to bring a legal action against Netflix. The NAD is attempting to make it a legal requirement for Netflix to offer closed captions on its streamed movie service.

NAD is suing Netflix under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Netflix tried to dismiss NADs claim as they said the ADA only applied to public buildings and structures, not to Internet services. The court denied Netflix’s motion for dismissal, stating that it would be “irrational to conclude” that “places of public accommodation are limited to actual physical structures. …In a society in which business is increasingly conducted online, excluding businesses that sell services through the Internet from the ADA would run afoul of the purposes of the ADA and would severely frustrate Congress’s intent that individuals with disabilities fully enjoy the goods, services, privileges and advantages, available indiscriminately to other members of the general public.”

Read more on NAD.

When you want the latest and greatest in hearing aid technology, Bluetooth is a must-have feature. Bluetooth allows hearing aids to wirelessly communicate with other devices, including the hearing aid in your other ear, your computer, television, cell phone and digital music player. Picking the best Bluetooth hearing aid requires some attention to detail as you examine its features and choose the right aid for your needs.

Bluetooth transmitter

Although technology is continually moving to smaller components, Bluetooth hearing aids still come with a separate transmitter. You must wear this transmitter to facilitate wireless communication between your hearing aids and other devices. The transmitter may be worn around your neck, on your belt or in a pocket. When shopping, consider the size of the transmitter and where you will wear it. With most types of Bluetooth hearing aids, you will need to access the transmitter to turn it on when you want to use the Bluetooth function.

Environmental noise

Bluetooth hearing aids transmit the sound directly to the hearing aid – i.e., it does not have to come through the microphone. Therefore, some types of hearing aids will turn off the microphone when you’re using the hearing aid to listen through a Bluetooth connection. This, however, can make it difficult for you to hear what else is going on around you, such as having a conversation with someone while you watch TV. Depending on the situations in which you see yourself using the hearing aid, you may want to choose one like the Alera, which amplifies environmental noise for you even while you’re using the Bluetooth function.

Setup and technology

Not all electronics automatically give a Bluetooth signal, so you may have to set them up to communicate with Bluetooth. The most technologically advanced electronics, like new computers and cell phones, generally come with built-in Bluetooth technology. With older electronics, you’ll have to plug a small device into your television, phone or other item you want to hear wirelessly with Bluetooth. Your hearing aid provider will also have to link your Bluetooth transmitter to your hearing aids and show you how to work them.

Cost and care

Bluetooth-equipped hearing aids, especially those with the latest technology, tend to be quite expensive. Therefore, you’ll need to look into what your health insurance covers, not only when purchasing your hearing aid, but also when repairing or replacing it. You’ll also need to be attentive to caring for your hearing aid by dehumidifying it and keeping track of your transmitter, which you need to have with you for the Bluetooth functionality to work.

Hearing aid technology is advancing in leaps and bounds with Bluetooth’s help. Wirelessly connect not only with telephones, but with almost any electronic device that creates sound. The crystal clear sound you will hear makes it easier for you to enjoy audio experiences with other people without having to crank up the volume or deal with fuzzy sound or feedback in your hearing aids. Ask about Bluetooth next time you go to replace your hearing aid.

The Audicus blog is running a fun little competition, they are asking people to take photos of ear-like shapes and send them in. Don’t think there’s any prizes, just for fun.

Grab your camera and send a picture to: http://audicus.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/five-eary-pictures-ear-appreciation-campaign/