More than 31 million people in the United States alone suffer from hearing loss – that is one in every 10 people in the current population. Of those, only five to 10 percent can be treated medically, leaving the largest number in need of other solutions. It is for those people that veteran audiologist Susan Dalebout wrote this comprehensive guide. The book explains, with a simple overview of hearing anatomy and physiology, how we hear, and details hearing evaluation tests, the interpretation of those tests, and the conditions that most commonly cause hearing loss in adults. All things related to adult hearing loss are explained, as is a full menu of hearing rehabilitation services, devices, and technology. This text includes discussion of the importance of hearing in our lives, the psychological, social and emotional effects of untreated hearing loss, and the effects on family members and friends. Also included is a chapter on prevention, describing the dangers of exposure to hazardous noise and certain drugs, and how to protect against damage to hearing. Unique for its breadth and depth, this text also offers detail on hearing aids, care and maintenance as well as factors to consider when purchasing an aid, cochlear implants, hearing-assistance technology, and future trends in hearing restoration.

Solutions of stroma-free hemoglobin have been investigated for their potential as blood replacement fluids for more than 70 years. Despite many attempts to overcome their unwanted side effects through chemical modification of the hemoglobin molecule, none of the potential solutions has been approved for clinical use in Europe or the United States. In recent years, the vasoconstrictive activity of hemoglobin in the plasma was identified as the pivotal problem of hemoglobin-based blood substitutes, compromising nutritional perfusion and thus impeding oxygen unloading at the site of the microcirculation.

One of the prevailing assumptions is that the precapillary vasoconstriction and the ensuing tissue underperfusion is caused by the high affinity of free hemoglobin for nitric oxide. To resolve this problem, a number of recombinant techniques involving site-directed mutagenesis as well as several chemical approaches involving polymerization and pegylation have been developed. This volume summarizes the latest research on the effects of some of these new hemoglobin solutions on the microvasculature and tissue oxygenation. It is recommended reading for all those interested in finding alternatives for donor blood in transfusion medicine, including emergency specialists, anesthesiologists, surgeons, trauma surgeons and other clinicians who are frequently confronted with blood loss and the need for blood replacement.