Mrs. PARTON. But when we put it on, you do hear. What are some of your favorite sounds to listen to? Ms. PARTON. Birds. Mrs. PARTON. Birds. Anything else? Ms. PARTON. Pigeons. Mrs. PARTON. Pigeons. We have a lot of pigeons in New York, do we not? Ms. PARTON. Yeah. Mrs. PARTON. People do not realize how hard you have to work to speak as well as you do, so let us show the Senators some of the exercises we do at speech therapy, three times a week. I am going to cover my mouth so you cannot see what I am saying. And you use your concentration to hear. Really listen, OK? Ms. PARTON. All right. Mrs. PARTON. How old are you? Ms. PARTON. Five. Five. Mrs. PARTON. Who is Peter Pan's friend? Ms. PARTON. Wendy. Mrs. PARTON. Good. And who chases Peter Pan and does not like him? Ms. PARTON. Tinkerbell. Mrs. PARTON. Good. Oh. Is Tinkerbell Peter's friend or enemy? Ms. PARTON. Both of them. Mrs. PARTON. Oh. Well, that is an interesting interpretation. [Laughter.] You are right. You are right. She gets angry at Peter does she not? That is good. Where do you live? Ms. PARTON. I live in an apartment building. Mrs. PARTON. Right. Good. And what do you like to do? What do you like to do? Ms. PARTON. Where? Mrs. PARTON. At school. Ms. PARTON. I like to play with my friends. Mrs. PARTON. That is a good thing to like to do. Why do you like your cochlear implant? Ms. PARTON. Because it helps me to hear. Mrs. PARTON. Do you like to listen to yourself sing? Mrs. PARTON. Do you like to listen to yourself sing? Mrs. PARTON. You sing a lot. Good listening. Why do you think the cochlear implant is important? Ms. PARTON. Because it helps people to hear. Mrs. PARTON. Yeah. If you could change something about it, what would you like to change? Ms. PARTON. I do not know. Mrs. PARTON. You do not know. Is it perfect? Ms. PARTON. Yeah. Mrs. PARTON. Oh. Good. OK. Maybe the Senator wants to ask you a question, so listen. Senator HARKIN. OK. [Laughter.] Mrs. PARTON. You do not have to. Senator HARKIN. You visited the Children's Museum yesterday? Ms. PARTON. Yes. Senator HARKIN. What did you like best? Ms. PARTON. I like that you can touch the things in the museum. Senator HARKIN. How did you get here from New York? Did you fly? Ms. PARTON. What? Senator HARKIN. Did you fly here from New York? Ms. PARTON. No. Senator HARKIN. How did you get here? Ms. PARTON. A train. Senator HARKIN. Oh, you rode the train down. Oh, I see. Was it fun? Was it a fun ride, did you enjoy the train? Ms. PARTON. Good. I do, too. Senator HARKIN. Do you have a pet dog? Senator HARKIN. Do you have a pet dog? Ms. PARTON. No; I have a pet cat. Senator HARKIN. What is his name? Ms. PARTON. Dexter. Senator HARKIN. Say that again. Ms. PARTON. Dexter. Mrs. PARTON. After the jazz musician Dexter Gordon. Senator HARKIN. I used to live in a town called Dexter, IA. And I did not know they named a cat after it. [Laughter.] Well, thank you very much, for coming from New York. Ms. Fox. Thank you, Senator Harkin. Ms. PARTON. Thank you. Senator HARKIN. Very bright. And obviously-you were the youngest child to ever receive a cochlear implant. That is pretty remarkable. Do you feel like a pioneer? Ms. PARTON. No! [Laughter.] Senator HARKIN. Well, you are very brave and you are very precocious and very bright, and I know you have got a great future ahead of you. If you study hard. Ms. PARTON. Thank you. Senator HARKIN. If you study hard. Ms. PARTON. What. Senator HARKIN. You must study hard. Ms. PARTON. Yes. [Laughter.] Senator HARKIN. Senator Gorton. Senator GORTON. Ms. Fox, I understand that some of my staff have been in touch with you with respect to some deafness research, and your friendship with Dr. Rubell at the University of Washington. I wonder if you could tell me and the committee about the potential for that specific research. Ms. Fox. The potentials for what, sir? Senator GORTON. I understand that we have talked with you about Dr. Rubel's research at the University of Washington Department of Otolaryngology. Evidently he feels that there are already enough experts in related fields with respect to the cure and the prevention of deafness. Ms. Fox. I did not hear most of your question, so I am going to have to answer what I did hear. You were asking about the potential of the Institute? Senator GORTON. Yes. Ms. Fox. And it has great potential. We had nothing 5 years ago, we did not know anything about hair cell regeneration in the inner ear, and today we have discovered that there are juvenile birds and adult birds, and fish and amphibia that can regrow hair cells after they are destroyed. And this-we have incredible researchers working on this. Senator GORTON. Do you think that there is human potential for the same thing? Ms. Fox. Yes; absolutely. As soon as we find out how these animals regrow them, then we will do some studies with mammals. Senator GORTON. To what extent do you feel that there is a sufficient degree of support for that kind of research now, or what could we do to create it? Ms. Fox. Well, there is tremendous support. In fact, in your State, sir, you have a very fine researcher, Dr. Ed Rubel of the University of Washington, who is one of our, I would say, one of four or five researchers in this country who are doing incredible work. And he runs a marvelous lab. And if you have time, you must visit there because he feels that with financial support from the Congress, within 5 to 7 years, we would see hair cells growing in the human being, which would cure-it is absolutely a cure for most deafness. Senator GORTON. That support is not available now, but if it were available, this could Ms. Fox. The support is available. They are supporting. And I am saying with more support. They are supporting this, and it is a very fine study. Senator GORTON. Do you have any estimate as to what degree of support would be required for what period of time? Ms. Fox. Yes; I would say $1 million a year for 5 years. Senator GORTON. All right. And tell me once again what you think that might accomplish. Ms. Fox. That would accomplish a cure for many types of deafness. And the deafness would come from-such as my deafness is caused by the mumps. I am deaf in my left ear. And I caught the mumps when I was teaching school 32 years ago. It would cure deafness from loud noises. People have lost their hearing from working in construction jobs, et cetera. Senator GORTON. What percentage, or what share of the deafness problems in the country do you think might be impacted by this kind of research? PREPARED STATEMENT Ms. Fox. Well, we have 2 million deaf, and 28 million hearing impaired. And I would think, personally, that over 50 percent would be helped by this. But that is just a rough guess, and it could be more, much more. Thank you very much. Senator GORTON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Geraldine. Thank you, Rachel. Thank you very much Caitland. Thank you all for being here. [The statement follows:] STATEMENT OF GERALDINE DIETZ FOX As Chairperson of The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, I want to express my sincere appreciation to you, Chairman Harkin, and members of the Subcommittee and your staffs. This is the fifth year that I have appeared before you, and, as always, I am grateful for your kindness and generosity in supporting the NIDCD. Thanks to your faith in us and your nuturing of this Institute, this year, we are expecting an explosion of grant applications--562--, more than any other Institute at NIH. The interest and excitement of the researchers in this field has never waned but grown enormously. The Professional Judgement Budget for FY'92 of our Director is $201 million, and this figure would allow us to have a success rate of funding 42% of all approved grants. Attached to my testimony is a copy of the budget and the justification for it. To quote our Director, Dr. James B. Snow Jr., "We are in the midst of an accelerating period of discovery." I would like to summarize Dr. Snow's assesment of NIDCD's scientific highlights in the communication disorders fields. HEARING: ++ At present, there is some outstanding work being done in the field of hair cell regeneration in the inner ear. When these hair cells die or are destroyed for one reason or another (viruses, environmental factors, etc), people can't hear. Hair cells are known to regenerate in certain animals (fish, amphibia, and juvenile and adult birds) but not in man. If researchers could discover how some animals are able to re-grow hair cells after they are destroyed, perhaps we could stimulate hair cell growth in human beings. Work towards this goal holds the possibility of a true cure for many types of deafness. ++ Research in the field of genetics continues to progress towards helping people with hereditary deafness by the discovery of genes which cause deafness from certain diseases. The location of the genes that cause deafness have been discovered in Usher's Syndrome, Type 2 (thought to be the cause of 10% of all cases of congenital deafness), Neurofibromatosis 1 and 2, Albinism, and one form of Alport's Syndrome (a kidney disease). ++ Not everyone's hearing is affected by acute sounds. Evidence indicates that heat shock proteins formed in the inner ear may protect hair cells from being destroyed. ++ In October, 1990, the FDA released a vaccine to protect infants (beginning at 2 months of age) from the most common type of meningitis. As you know, Caitlin Parton, who is testifying with us, lost her hearing from a bout with meningitis. ++ Researchers are investigating a chemical depletion in the brains of elderly people as a cause of hearing loss. |