Listening in noise asks your hearing system to do more than detect a voice. It also has to separate that voice from competing sounds while preserving enough detail for the words to make sense.
Making Captions an Ordinary Part of Going to the Theater
I’m a product designer, and my connections with theater professionals drew my attention to the work behind captioning. Preparing captions can take days. During the show, someone usually has to advance them line by line.
Is 50 Percent Volume Safe? What Reviewing Headphones Taught Me
Fifty percent of maximum volume on a power-hungry headphone can be quite gentle. Fifty percent on a sensitive pair of earbuds, plugged into a strong source, can be loud enough to permanently harm hearing.
Instead of Yelling
A person becomes hard of hearing, caregivers and families start raising their voices, no one likes shouting at another person, the conversations decline.
Why Knowledge Isn’t Enough
A simple, universal visual warning system (like a red, yellow, or green noise-level indicator at a concert venue, racetrack, or theme park) instantly conveys danger, warning, or safety to people of all ages. Combined with access to basic foam earplugs and insertion instructions, a simple prompt can transform behavior.
Sound of the Future
Hearing loss began affecting how I saw myself. There is a word in Chinese that describes how I felt: 自卑 (zìbēi), a feeling of insecurity and inferiority that makes you shrink yourself around other people.
Are You ‘Otoaging’?
Otoaging is a new word I coined to describe both the premature aging of cochlear hair cells and synapses caused by noise, and the end result, hearing loss in old age. I was inspired by the term photoaging, used by dermatologists to describe the premature aging of the skin by sun.
Finding the Middle Ground
The key is to introduce myself as usual and let people get to know my personality first. If I miss something during the conversation, I simply let them know: “Hey, I have hearing loss, do you mind saying that again?”
The ADA Has Teeth: Your Complaint Will Be Heard
A review of recent Department of Justice resolutions shows a clear trend: Communication access failures now outnumber physical accessibility complaints.
How to Protect Your Hearing at Concerts Without Missing the Music
Wear well-fitted protection, create distance from loudspeakers, take quiet breaks, and limit additional noise afterward.