News

Earplug sales soar at World Cup

Jun 18th, 2010 | By Steve | Category: News

The gossip Web site TMZ.com is reporting that in response to the rampant use of vuvuzela horns during World Cup soccer matches, earplug sales have exploded since the group stage matches began in South Africa last week.  TMZ has said it spoke with to two major earplug suppliers based in South Africa — Ear [...]



Rapper Foxy Brown talks about her sudden hearing loss

Jun 14th, 2010 | By Steve | Category: News

New York rapper Foxy Brown recently opened up about her deafness with talk show host and comedian, Mo’Nique. The female MC spoke about how she went deaf a few years ago and how she has now managed to regain her hearing. Foxy Brown said: “It was 100 percent gone, overnight. They don’t even know why. [...]



My Deaf Family – reality TV show hits YouTube

Mar 31st, 2010 | By Steve | Category: News

Marlee Matlin had an idea for a reality show that she hoped would bring some insight into the lives and struggles of deaf people and how they cope. But while reality TV has brought us wife swappers, party girls, aging rock stars and dieting divas, apparently no one was ready for something that real. So [...]



Google rolling out captions to all Youtube videos

Mar 24th, 2010 | By Steve | Category: News

Google have announced that they are rolling out captions to all videos on Youtube. A little while back they announced a test of captioning for a small number of videos. I guess they’ve ironed out any problems seen during the trial run and they’re now ready to offer across the board. From Google themselves on [...]



Hearing aids still considered an old people thing

Mar 8th, 2010 | By Steve | Category: News

Despite all the advances in hearing technology over the past few years, a survey conducted by the Phonak Hear the World initiative has found that people still associate hearing aids with old age more than any other accessory, including wheelchairs, glasses, canes and crutches. 4,405 people, aged from 14-65 in the United Kingdom, America, France, [...]



Volume limits for mp3 players recommended but misses the point

Jan 12th, 2010 | By Steve | Category: News

The European Commission wants to limit maximum volume on all portable MP3 players sold in the EU, including iPods, to protect users’ hearing. This follows a report last year warning that as many as 10 million Europeans are putting their hearing at risk when they listen to loud music on their MP3 players. According to [...]



Tax Credit Would Improve Hearing For More Than 10 Million Americans

Dec 4th, 2009 | By Steve | Category: News

Hearing aids for as many as 10 million Americans living with untreated hearing loss could soon become a reality if Congress acts, says Stephen Hansbrough, CEO of HearUSA, who is urging passage of the tax credit legislation that would make hearing aids significantly more affordable. Although almost all of the 36 million Americans with hearing [...]



Google introduces automatic captioning for YouTube

Dec 4th, 2009 | By Steve | Category: News

Google announced a few weeks ago that they have added the ability to auto-caption YouTube videos. That means that when the project is complete we will be able to have captions on any YouTube video whether the original uploader of the video added captions or not. Pretty damn awesome and it answers this question pretty [...]



Researchers create cell phones for sign language

Dec 3rd, 2009 | By Steve | Category: News

Cornell researchers and colleagues have created cell phones that allow deaf people to communicate in sign language, the same way hearing people use phones to talk. For those who are deaf or hard of hearing, cell phone use has largely been limited to text messaging. But technology is catching up: Cornell researchers and colleagues have [...]



Ex-footballer campaigns to change attitudes to deafness

Nov 5th, 2009 | By Steve | Category: News

Pompey football legend Alan Knight spent years struggling to hear conversations. But now hearing aids have transformed his life and he is campaigning to change attitudes to deafness. ‘That John Westwood has got a lot to answer for,’ smiles Knight, recalling the hundreds of times he would be subjected to the loud ringing bell of [...]