Two new studies give one more reason to eat a diet rich in fish: prevention of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in old age. (MSNBC)

June 27, 2006

When picking out a pair of sunglasses this summer, it’s best to avoid blue-tinted lenses and instead to choose yellow- or amber-tinted lenses, advises an eye researcher in New York. (MSNBC)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Vision

May 08, 2006

Prolonged exposure to UV rays can burn the surface of eyes. The cumulative effect of UV damage has been linked to vision-robbing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration later in life. (Excite)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Vision

March 27, 2006

Wet age-related macular degeneration. It's a condition that blinds more than 1 million people in the United States. That number is expected to double by the year 2020 as baby boomers get older. But now a cancer drug is giving patients their vision back. (abclocal.go.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Macular Degeneration

January 19, 2006

If recent reports are to be believed, those sleek iPod earbuds may carry risks beyond marking wearers as mugger-bait.

As if to rain on Apple's holiday parade -- the company reported sales of 14 million iPods in the last quarter of 2005, bringing total sales for the product to more than 42 million -- audiologists and other hearing experts have been issuing warnings in recent weeks that improper use of iPods and other personal stereo systems can dramatically heighten risk of hearing loss, particularly in young people. (Washington Post)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Hearing

January 10, 2006

At both ends of the age spectrum, the market for cochlear implantation is expanding.

For children, the Food and Drug Administration has lowered the age limit to one year -- it was two years in 1980 -- on the strength of studies showing early implantation aids in the development of oral communication. Richard Miyamoto, president-elect of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, has implanted kids as young as 6 months old in clinical studies. (Washington Post)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Deafness

December 07, 2005

The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to use Tedco Inc.'s Miracle II Neutralizer products, saying the products have been contaminated by bacteria.

Using them could lead to infections, particularly in children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, the FDA said. (Washington Post)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Vision

November 01, 2005

There's a great first-person article in the Washington Post today written by a man who has very limited senses of smell and taste:

This is what we established on my first visit to the UConn clinic, where I spent two hours smelling bottles of diluted alcohol, trying to identify canned scents, and swishing dozens of liquids around in my mouth to rank them by their taste. The scents were a failure: Of all those placed before me, I could recognize only Vicks VapoRub. Now, that's depressing. Imagine if everything you smelled could only be categorized as either "Vicks" or "not Vicks."(Washington Post)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Anosmia

September 08, 2005

Need another reason to stop smoking? Cigarette smokers are far more likely than nonsmokers to go blind late in life, but few people are aware of the risk, new research suggests. (Fox News)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Blindness

August 09, 2005

Researchers at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik studied 445 men aged 50 or older of whom 79 were pilots and 71 had cataracts, concluding the pilots had triple the risk of developing cataracts. (Reuters)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Cataracts

April 29, 2005

Scientists in Hong Kong and Britain have discovered a gene responsible for hearing, a breakthrough that could eventually lead to a cure for congenital deafness. (Reuters)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Deafness

April 11, 2005

It's widely believed that children with a so-called lazy eye have to be treated quite early in life, before the brain's 'wiring' becomes fixed. However, many children who are 7 years of age or older appear to respond to treatment for amblyopia, as the condition is called, according to a new study. (Reuters)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Vision