Brooke Dunefsky, a high school student in New York, recently approached us to be featured on her podcast Charity Talks. Last week she interviewed Timothy Higdon, our president and CEO, about Hearing Health Foundation: our mission, our two research programs (Emerging Research Grants and the Hearing Restoration Project), and our Keep Listening prevention program.
Timothy also spoke about his personal connection to the foundation, including his own hearing loss as a result of his service in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and how he happened to discover the extent of his hearing loss while playing jazz piano. It’s a wide-ranging interview in just 28 minutes.
Here is an excerpt from when Timothy talks about Keep Listening:
“We see a lot of hashtags, like hashtag ‘worth it.’ Folks will go to a concert that will be so loud that the next day, or a day or two or three later, their ears are ringing and that causes headaches. They'll say, ‘Oh, it's so worth it.’ There's a misconception that loud is better. And it really isn't.
“A really good analogy is how, say at Thanksgiving, we all kind of gorge—we have pumpkin pie and apple pie and cake and cookies and beer and wine and all that stuff. If it's only once or twice a year, it's not a problem because your body is able to recover from it. But think about if you ate like you did on Thanksgiving day after day. There's a cumulative effect to how that would affect your body. That's what it would be like when you're exposed to loud noise if you do not take a break.”
Please have a listen at Charity Talks.
Also check out the long list of other interviewees, including Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University; Debbie Drell, the director of membership for the National Organization for Rare Disorders; and Keith Harward, who spent 33 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, and Nigel Quiroz, an attorney and policy analyst at the Innocence Project.
We are blown away by Brooke’s accomplishments, in addition to the creation of and hosting the podcast. We congratulate her on earning a Silver Award in an international science fair competition and for Charity Talks being an All-American High School Film Festival 2021 podcast selection. Thank you for including us!
—Yishane Lee, HHF director of marketing and communications
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I wanted to create a story that not only celebrated the beauty of differences but also conveyed the importance of empathy and understanding. My heart was set on crafting a tale that could empower children with hearing loss while also educating their peers about the significance of inclusivity.