A recipe for hearing: Sensory hair cells made from stem cells

This sounds like a interesting development in the area of hearing repair. The http://www.eurekalert.org reports that "After ten years of effort, researchers reporting in the May 14th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, say they have found a way to coax embryonic stem cells as well as reprogrammed adult cells to develop into sensory cells that normally reside in the mammalian inner ear. Those mechanosensitive sensory hair cells are the linchpin of hearing and balance."

The researchers include Kazuo Oshima, Kunyoo Shin, Marc Diensthuber, Anthony W. Peng, Anthony J. Ricci, and Stefan Heller, of Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.

Read more: A recipe for hearing: Sensory hair cells made from stem cells

Zounds Difference??

The zounds difference is amazing.  I wonder if the demo is accurate because the difference seems to be too much.  I would love to demo a zounds hearing aid.  Check out the restaurant demo on their site.
http://zoundshearing.com/customers/sounddemo/

Bat studies to aid roving robots - BBC News

NO_BATS_IN_THE_BELFRY, originally uploaded by lafleurerouge.

Studies of the ways bats and dolphins use sound to could soon help people with cochlear implants listen in stereo. Read Article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10104494.stm

Hear HD Clear

After years of research, the Tulsa company is rolling out an in-ear hearing instrument that's tiny, programmable, customizable and self-adjusting — it can even be used as a Bluetooth speaker to answer cellular calls wirelessly, said Jim Feeley, president of SeboTek.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=52&articleid=20100509_52_E1_MikeFe653175

O'Brien: Getting an ear mold made by Plantronics the old-fashioned way

I want to see this wall of ears O'Brien mentions in his article. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15023702?nclick_check=1