Chicago AES Section Blog

March 19, 2020 at 7:30 pm

Location: Shure Incorporated, 5800 W. Touhy Ave, Niles, IL 60714

Speaker(s): Dr. Colleen Le Prell, University of Texas at Dallas

**THIS MEETING WAS CANCELLED DUE TO CDC REGULATIONS REGARDING COVID-19 PANDEMIC**

ABSTRACT:

There are hundreds of drugs that have the potential to induce unwanted auditory side effects including not only tinnitus and hearing loss, but also dizziness and other balance disorders. Two of the drugs best known for inducing hearing loss and tinnitus are the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin and various members of the aminoglycoside antibiotics family which are used to treat major life-threatening infections. Although the hearing loss induced by these “ototoxic” drugs compromises quality of life, the life-saving benefits of the drugs outweigh the unwanted side effects. In an effort to reduce hearing loss caused not only by these ototoxic drugs but also the hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sound, laboratories around the world have engaged in sustained research activities targeting the development of new “otoprotective” drug agents that ameliorate the harmful effects of noise, cisplatin, and the aminoglycoside antibiotics. In this talk, I will provide a brief overview of how noise, cisplatin, and aminoglycoside antibiotics induce cell death in the inner ear, and how investigational drug agents have protected the inner ear against cell death and hearing loss, preserving auditory function not only in pre-clinical lab studies completed in rodent models but also in early stage clinical trials. Although there are not yet any drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for prevention of hearing loss, multiple promising agents are progressing through the clinical testing process and there is hope that new drug solutions might one day provide a new tool within the hearing loss prevention toolbox.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER:

Dr. Colleen Le Prell is the Emilie and Phil Schepps Professor of Hearing Science at the University of Texas at Dallas, and head of the UTD Communication Sciences and Disorders area, which includes programs in Speech, Language, and Hearing. She has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, several foundations, and industry. Translational research in her laboratory is directed at prevention of noise-induced hearing loss.  She has published more than 65 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and is an Associate Editor for both the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and the International Journal of Audiology. She contributed 19 book chapters to various texts, and she has edited 3 books.  She is a Past-President of the National Hearing Conservation Association, a current member of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Hearing Loss Prevention Cross Sector Council, and she has contributed to the World Health Organization “Make Listening Safe” annual consultation annually since 2017.

Other Business: DINNER: Dinner (optional, but please RSVP) will begin at 6:30pm. Contact Brandon Cudequest ([email protected]) by Wednesday, March 18th if you would like to join us. Pizza and salad from Lou Malnati’s will be provided. Please let Brandon know if you have a preference for vegetarian, gluten-free, etc. Price is $10 for non-members and $8 for members and students (please bring cash). SAVE THE DATE: Our next meeting will be on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Oliver Masciorotte (Co–Founder & CMO at MAAT Digital) will present on the topic of Loudness & Dynamic Range Metering. Meeting will be held at Shure Inc.

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