Aminoglycoside antibiotics, commonly prescribed for adults and children to treat a wide range of bacterial infections, are potentially ototoxic, often causing irreversible damage to the auditory and vestibular systems. Ototoxic hearing loss usually begins at the higher frequencies and can progress to lower frequencies necessary for understanding…

The toxicity of certain aminoglycoside antibiotics for vestibular hair cells has been used to special advantage in the treatment of Meniere's disease. Intratympanic (middle ear) injections of these drugs are being increasingly used to control vertigo in this disorder when it has not responded to medical therapy. The mechanisms by which these drugs…

The inner ear is exposed to aminoglycosides or other drugs either intentionally or as a side effect of clinical treatments directed at other regions of the body. An understanding of the effects of drugs on the inner ear requires knowledge of the pharmacokinetics of the drug once it reaches the cochlear fluids, specifically how much of it reaches…

Aminoglycosides exert their cytotoxic effect at three different locations: at the cell surface, in the cytosol, or in the nucleus. At the cell surface, aminoglycoside binding can cause temporary hearing loss, motor paralysis at the neuromuscular junction, ion wasting in kidneys, or analgesia in mechano- and nocioreceptors (touch and pain sensory…

The problem of aminoglycoside-induced ototoxicity, which was recognized within a year of the discovery of streptomycin to combat tuberculosis in 1944, is still of great concern due to the widespread use of these powerful antibacterial agents. These drugs can damage to varying degrees the cochlea and vestibular system. Their primary targets are the…

Aminoglycosides are toxic to both the inner ear hair cells and the ganglion cells that give rise to the eighth cranial nerve. According to recent studies, these cells have a repertoire of molecular responses to aminoglycoside exposure that engages multiple neuroprotective mechanisms. The responses appear to involve regulation of ionic homeostasis,…

Aminoglycoside antibiotics are commonly used because of their ability to treat bacterial infections, yet they also are a major cause of deafness. Aminoglycosides selectively damage the cochlea's sensory hair cells, the receptors that respond to the fluid movement in the cochlea to produce neural signals that are relayed to the brain. Sensory hair…

The search for protection from aminoglycoside ototoxicity is nearly as old as their use as antibiotics. However, only in recent years has focused research on the mechanisms underlying the insults to the inner ear led to coherent attempts at protection, such as antioxidant therapy or interference with cell death signaling pathways. Successful…

Drug ototoxicity research has relied traditionally on animal models for the discovery and development of therapeutic interventions. More than 50 years of research, however, has delivered few--if any--successful clinical strategies for preventing or ameliorating the ototoxic effects of common pharmacological drugs such as aminoglycoside…

This study investigated parents' and teachers' expectations of Auditory-Verbal therapy and the child's language development. Data were collected by questionnaires that were distributed to parents and teachers at three early intervention centers. Twenty matching questionnaires were completed and returned. The results of this study showed that the…

While the Auditory-Verbal approach has been a popular intervention option for children with hearing loss since the 1940s. few empirical studies have evaluated the communication and academic outcomes of those children who have participated in this intervention approach. The focus of this article is to discuss the standards of evidence-based…

A survey of itinerant teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing in four Australian states was conducted to describe the personal and professional characteristics of these teachers and their work with students. Of particular interest was whether itinerant teachers use consultative or pull-out models of service delivery. Other elements surveyed…

The aim of this paper is to advance understanding of the theoretical basis for the difficulties many children who are deaf or hard of hearing face when learning spoken English grammar. The association between learning syntactical grammar and pre-verbal social interactions is explored and related to the effects of prelingual hearing loss. We…

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) has developed a new interdisciplinary teacher preparation concentration to address the need for early intervention and early childhood personnel to work with young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. This concentration focuses on a spoken language approach and…

Using electopalatography, this study investigated the production of sibilants produced by four adults who have severe-to-profound hearing loss and four speakers with normal hearing. Each speaker wore a Rion[R] semi-flexible electroplate while producing multiple repetitions of the utterances "see, sue, she, shoe." The speakers' productions were…