Research

AG Bell Releases Research on Aminoglycoside Antibiotics
Aminoglycoside antibiotics are commonly prescribed to treat a wide range of life-threatening bacterial infections, particularly in children and premature babies. They are also a well-known and major cause of acquired deafness. A review of recent research published in the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing’s The Volta Review unites authors from diverse specialties, such as audiology, genetics, physiology, and toxicology to explain how these drugs work and why they are used in clinical settings despite their potentially severe side effects. Authors also address emerging strategies for preventing aminoglycoside-induced deafness, which can dramatically hinder a growing child’s ability to learn to listen and talk, and cost more than $417,000 for therapy, rehabilitation, and education over a person’s lifetime.

Peter Steyger, PhD, associate professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at the Oregon Hearing Research Center, served as guest editor for the issue. Steyger’s own research in auditory neuroscience is driven in part by his personal experience with aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss following cerebral meningitis and subsequent treatment with streptomycin when he was 14 months old.

For more information, visit www.agbell.org.

Donations

Starkey Offers AFA Up to $50,000 in Matching Grant Funds
Donations to the Audiology Foundation of America (AFA), Lafayette, Ind, will be worth twice as much in 2006 thanks to a matching grant, up to $50,000, from Starkey Laboratories, Eden Prairie, Minn.

The matching campaign was kicked off during this year’s AAA convention in Minneapolis. Donations are needed to support the AFA’s mission to transition audiology to a doctoring profession, as well as in sponsorship of AuD students. This year, the AFA has also placed special significance on working for state licensure change throughout the country.

“Starkey has been wonderfully supportive of the AFA, the AuD movement, and the profession of audiology,” says AFA Director Michael Hartman, AuD. “AuD education changes the lives of practitioners and their patients for the better. Starkey’s contribution will give us the opportunity to gather more resources and continue to push the profession forward.”

Donations are now being accepted via the AFA Web site, www.audfound.org, and several incentives are available to donors, including full-color lobby posters that promote hearing check-ups. For more information, visit www.audfound.org.

Scholarship

DawnSignPress Offers Scholarship to Student Headed to 4-Year University
DawnSignPress, San Diego, is awarding a $2,000 scholarship to a deaf or hard of hearing high school senior or junior college/community college student going to a four-year university in 2006-2007. The scholarship will be awarded to the candidate who plans to major in communications, creative writing, deaf education, deaf studies, English, filmmaking, history, linguistics, or multimedia.

Established in 2004 to encourage promising students eager to pursue a college education and impart their knowledge to others, the scholarship has special meaning for DawnSignPress’s President, Joe Dannis: “Teachers have always been one of our most valuable resources,” he says. “Without them, DawnSignPress wouldn’t exist. Higher education is expensive, and I wanted to offer an incentive for young people who may be interested in one day running their own classrooms. We can never have enough talented dedicated educators.”

The application deadline is May 1. The winner will be announced in June. For more information on how to apply, visit www.dawnsign.com/about/dspscholarship.html.

Newsletter

AFA e-Newsletter to Discuss Pro-AuD Activities
The Audiology Foundation of America (AFA), Lafayette, Ind, has created an e-newsletter, AuD News, to keep AuDs informed about important issues within their profession. The free e-newsletter will be e-mailed to subscribers 6 times per year, and will address topics such as state licensure updates and resources for AuDs, as well as highlight AFA scholarship winners and other pro-AuD movement activities.

New subscribers can join the recipient list by e-mailing their contact information to info-afa@audfound.org.