By Mitchell Batavia, PT, Ph.D.
Mitchell Batavia PT, Ph.D., is an associate professor of physical therapy at New York University and a person with a hearing impairment. In addition to cartoons and flash fiction, he has published healthcare textbooks with Elsevier and Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hearing contributes directly to independence, confidence, and how actively people participate in daily routines, and regular hearing checks deserve the same kind of attention people already give to routine doctor or dental visits.
We are proud that Hearing Health Foundation-funded scientists are always well represented at Association for Research in Otolaryngology MidWinter Meeting.
For individuals with long-term hearing loss or severely degraded auditory input, the lack of reliable auditory feedback represents a challenge many orders of magnitude greater than the temporary masking used in this study.
It bears repeating: What improves access for a group with a specific disability invariably also helps the greater population.
Our new public service announcement “Let’s Listen Smart” recognizes that life is loud—and it’s also fun. And the last thing we want to do is stop having fun! We just need to listen responsibly.