Hearing Research - Current Insights

Posted: April 7, 2021

• The London School of Economics & Political Science and the World Health Organization recently collaborated on a project to estimate the global cost of hearing loss (all causes). Researchers evaluated disability and cost data available from several sources using a prevalence-based cost model commonly applied to chronic health conditions. Researchers estimated the annual economic global burden of hearing loss to be over $980 billion, mostly due to quality of life and loss of productivity. From a public health perspective, the authors argue that even modest reductions in the overall prevalence or severity of hearing loss can be of significant value.
  
  David McDaid, A-La Park, and Shelly Chadha (2021): Estimating the global costs of hearing loss, International Journal of Audiology, DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2021.1883197
  
  
• And for something a bit different…..here’s a fun read about how biology and technology can work together. Interdisciplinary researchers from Tel Aviv University connected a dead locust's ear to a robot in lieu of a standard microphone. Their goal was to use the ear’s ability to detect acoustic signals from the environment and convert the insect input to that of the robot. This work was a proof of concept, demonstrating the use of biological ears for robotic sensing and control.
  
  Fishel I, Amit Y, Shvil N, Sheinin A, Ayali A, Yovel Y, Maoz BM. Ear-Bot: Locust Ear-on-a-Chip Bio-Hybrid Platform. Sensors. 2021; 21(1):228. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21010228