The Audiologist Informer

Professional hearing services are largely absent in low- and middle-income countries where appropriate skills are lacking. The researchers, which include two people associated with Hearx (telehealth supplier and parent company of Lexie), show how a hearing healthcare service-delivery model is feasible in low-income communities using community healthcare workers (CHWs) and mHealth technologies.

The study shows acoustic trauma from impulse noise can be reduced by prompt H2 inhalation. In two groups of guinea pigs—one that inhaled hydrogen and one that did not—significant differences in the percentage loss of outer and inner hair cells were found 4 days after exposure to noise. The researchers say the otoprotective potential of H2 inhalation following acoustic trauma in humans should be investigated in future studies.