A Reminder During Newborn Screening Awareness Month: Infant Hearing Tests Are Vital to Children’s Futures

By Nadine Dehgan

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) joins the healthcare community and all parents in celebrating Newborn Screening Awareness Month.

Newborn screenings assess babies’ health within the first 24 to 48 hours of life. These quick and painless evaluations check for potentially harmful conditions that would otherwise not be apparent at birth. Included in this process are screenings for hearing loss, which is detected in three out of every 1,000 babies born in the U.S. 90 percent of babies identified with hearing loss have parents with typical hearing.

Hospitals use two safe and comfortable newborn hearing screening tests. Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) tests examine the nearly inaudible sounds, or emissions, produced by ear stimulation using a soft foam earphone and microphone. The inner ears of babies with typical hearing produce these emissions when stimulated by sound, while those with a hearing loss greater than 25-30 dB do not. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) tests measures how the hearing nerve responds to sounds. A hearing specialist plays sounds into the baby’s ears, while bandage-like electrodes are placed on the baby’s head to detect brain wave activity. Printed results show a pass or fail result.

A proactive approach to hearing health begins at birth. An early hearing loss diagnosis—before hospital departure—enables parents and families to pursue intervention, such as hearing devices, assistive devices, and/or sign language, as promptly as possible. Intervention of any kind permits children with hearing loss to enjoy healthier outcomes related to speech and language acquisition, academic achievement, and social and emotional development.

“When [profound bilateral] hearing loss was confirmed, I felt I had to do everything in my power,” recalls Dr. Nada Alsaigh, a pathologist, who made sure her son, Alex, was first amplified with hearing aids at three months. “We were lucky to know early, so Alex was not affected in a negative way.”

“[My son] Ethan received his first set of hearing aids when he was eight weeks old,” explains Jason Frank, a corporate attorney and member of HHF’s Board of Directors. “It’s really been amazing to watch over the last seven years how far he’s come. He has a wonderful appetite for learning.”

Cognitive advancements for children like Ethan and Alex would not be possible without support for universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) from HHF and likeminded organizations. In 1993, a staggeringly low rate of newborns—five percent—were tested for hearing loss in the hospital. This number increased to 94% by the end of the decade. Today, nearly all babies undergo this vital test.

“The institution of infant hearing screening at birth has been critical to speech and language development in the first two years of life [of a child with hearing loss],” says Anil K. Lalwani, M.D., Columbia University surgeon and member of HHF’s Board of Directors. “Before infant hearing screening was mandated, the average age of diagnosis for hair loss in a child with profound was two-and-a-half or three-years-old—later than recommended to begin intervention.”

In fact, a 2017 University of Colorado Boulder study of children with bilateral hearing loss further underscores the need for identification of hearing loss at a young age. Primary investigator Christine Yoshinaga-Itano, Ph.D., and team found that children who received intervention for hearing loss by six months had significantly higher vocabulary quotients than those who did not.

Though UNHS is highly-regarded by hearing experts like Drs. Lalwani and Yoshinaga-Itano, its security has been jeopardized. Last year, proposed cuts to the 2018 federal budget threatened to remove the $18 million allocated toward newborn hearing screenings in all 50 states. Given the lifetime costs of profound untreated hearing loss of nearly $1 million, a $18 million investment in screenings is surely worthwhile. Both the fiscal and health benefits of UNHS generated bipartisan support and, in 2017, the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act became law to sustain funding until 2022.

“We can’t imagine what it would have been like not to know,” Jason says. Ethan taught himself to read at three-and-a-half years old, which Jason and his wife believe is a direct result of Ethan’s access to sound and language at a very early age.

HHF implores policymakers to preserve newborn hearing screenings come 2022. The elimination of UNHS would be a tremendous disservice to our nation’s children with hearing loss. Learn more about how early intervention created positive health outcomes for Ethan and Alex in HHF’s short video (also shown above).

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Noise: Exposed

By Nadine Dehgan

Aboard my noisy flight to the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Convention in June, I couldn’t help but reflect upon loud sounds—and what can be done to reduce our exposure.

I’d recently learned that the word “noise” is derived from “sea sickness” or “nausea” in Latin. Noise has literally been associated with poor health outcomes for thousands of years.

Synonyms for “loud” include “ear-splitting” and “deafening.” In fact, vibrations from loud noises travel through the eardrum to reach our inner ear, where sensory hair cells change them into electrical signals to be interpreted by the brain. Hair cells, however,  come in limited supply. Humans are typically born with 16,000—and when these cells are damaged by noise, age, ototoxic drugs, or other factors, the brain’s ability to communicate with the ears is significantly weakened, resulting in permanent hearing loss.

Concerned about my fellow plane passengers’ hair cells, I opened my phone’s decibel (dB) measuring app, which indicated the maximum noise level after takeoff was 92 dB, while the average was 83 dB. The app also pointed out that this dB level is equivalent to that of alarm clocks. While this doesn’t seem uncomfortable, it’s actually not recommended for periods over two hours. I’d come prepared with both earplugs and noise-canceling headphones—which I limit to 60 percent of maximum volume in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO)’s recommendation. But not everyone taking flights comes prepared for the dangerous levels of noise inside the plane.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) states noise greater than 75 dB can harm hearing, and in 1974, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended that sound exposure should remain at or below 70 dB to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. Sudden loud noise—such as from blasts, gunfire, firecrackers, and bullhorns—also can cause hearing loss with levels reaching 165 dB! This is why so many veterans return with hearing loss and tinnitus. Tragically, they are the two most common disabilities for those who serve.

And yet our society glorifies noise. Two confessions explain my frustration. The first is I love to listen to love songs from the ’90s and my children think these songs are current hits. My second is when my kids are not in my car I often listen to classical music, but once in awhile I listen to current hits. One station’s tagline actually is “Ear-Popping Music.” I couldn’t believe that damaging eardrums was being advertised as a good thing! My youngest daughter, Emmy, had many eardrum ruptures—from infections, not noise—and she truly suffered. My anguish as a parent watching my baby and then toddler in pain was nothing compared to the pain she endured with no understanding of why.

How can we be okay with hearing loss and ear damage advertised as a positive experience? No one would advertise skin cancer from excessive sun exposure as a perk of a beach vacation. Nor would a beverage manufacturer tout soda’s negative impact on dental health.   

It is my wish that one day we take the real risk of hearing loss seriously and recognize it for the epidemic that it is. Experts say approximately one in five American children will have permanent hearing loss (largely noise-induced) before reaching adulthood. University of Ohio scientists report that even mild hearing losses in children can cause cognitive damage that would typically not occur until at least age 50. This is horrifying.

Still, we surround our children with damaging noise. Birthday parties, movie theaters, weddings, and family celebrations can blast noise exceeding 115 dB. Football stadiums, hockey arenas, exercise classes, and music concerts have clocked in at over 140 dB, which can cause irreversible hearing loss—whether sudden or progressive damage—in minutes.

Recently, a friend told me she complained of high noise levels (105 dB) to her daughter’s dance studio. Instead of offering to turn down the volume, management told her that she could leave the class. While her daughter can no longer attend dance class, my friend has the consolation of knowing her child is safer. My thoughts go to the employees of fitness centers, stadiums, restaurants, bars, and other commercial establishments whose ears are constantly assaulted.

Before becoming CEO of Hearing Health Foundation (HHF), I didn’t appreciate the dangers and consequences of loud sound. I now know that even a mild untreated hearing loss can lead to social issues including isolation, depression, and poor academic performance in children. In adults, the stakes are also high, with untreated hearing loss bringing the risks of mental decline, falls, and premature death.

Hearing loss can be mitigated by technology including hearing aids and cochlear implants. While these treatments are beneficial and life-saving, HHF is funding research toward permanent cures. Birds, fish, and reptiles are all able to restore their inner ear hair cells once damaged—but mammals including humans cannot. HHF funds a consortium of top hearing scientists through our Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) who study how other species are able to regenerate their hearing in order to apply this knowledge to humans through a biological cure.

As the plane descended toward Minneapolis, my ears popped, but I know the minor discomfort can’t compete with what Emmy experiences. As the mother, sister, daughter, and granddaughter of individuals with hearing loss, I remember my two biggest wishes: for society to place a greater value on hearing protection, and for HHF to continue to support researchers on their quest to treat and cure hearing loss and related conditions.

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Hearing Loss Film “Hearing Hope” Captures Personal Strength, Scientific Vision

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) has created a new short film, “Hearing Hope,” to expand awareness of hearing health through the voices of those who benefit from and those who carry out the foundation’s life-changing work.

"It took me longer to talk than most kids. Because I couldn't understand what they were saying so I couldn't copy it," explains Emmy, 7.

The third most prevalent chronic physical condition in the U.S., hearing loss can affect anyone—from first-grader Emmy to retired U.S. Army Colonel John—but its reach is often underestimated. “It’s one of the most common sensory deficits in humans,” explains cochlear implant surgeon Dr. Anil Lalwani. “I think we have to go from it being hidden to being visible.”

Both a hearing aid user and cochlear implant recipient, seventh-grader Alex is doing his part to make hearing loss less hidden. Smiling, he says he wants people to know that hearing with his devices makes him happy. John wishes to be an advocate for veterans and all who live with hearing loss and tinnitus.

When she received her hearing loss diagnosis at 17, NASA engineer Renee never thought she'd be living her dream.

The film also highlights resilience in response to the challenges associated with hearing conditions. Video participant Renee saw her dream of becoming an astronaut halted at 17 when her hearing loss was detected. Now she helps send people to space as an engineer at NASA.

Sophia describes the “low, low rock bottom” she hit when she was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, the leading cause of deafblindness. Yet she feels special knowing her disability shapes her and sets her apart.

Jason recounts having no resources for hearing loss in children when his son, Ethan, failed his newborn hearing screening. Today he’s grateful for Ethan’s aptitude for language, made possible through his early hearing loss intervention.

With the support of HHF, more progress is made each year. “I’m glad that the doctors are trying to figure out how fish and birds can restore their hearing,” says Emmy.

For the past 60 years, HHF has funded promising hearing science and in 2011 established the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP), an international consortium dedicated to finding biological cures for hearing loss using fish, bird, and mouse models to replicate the phenomenon of hearing loss reversal in humans.

“If [the HRP] can achieve that goal of hearing restoration...that would be a marvelous thing for hearing loss,” reiterates Dr. Robert Dobie.

Through “Hearing Hope,” HHF would like to share its mission and message of hope to as many individuals as possible and reassure those with hearing loss and their loved ones they are not alone. As an organization that channels all efforts into research and education, HHF would greatly appreciate any assistance or suggestions to increase visibility of the film.

Watch the full film at www.hhf.org/video. Closed captioning is available.

The Listening Project

By Vicky Chan and Lauren McGrath

“Most people still assume that if a person is deaf, they’re not able to speak,” narrates Jane Madell, Ph.D., in the opening moments of her documentary film “The Listening Project,” released in March 2018. Her statement sets the tone for the following 38 minutes of personal stories that shatter stigmas about hearing loss.

A New York City-based pediatric audiologist, speech language pathologist, and auditory verbal therapist, Madell created the documentary with award-winning filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky to reveal how technology has improved communication—and life—for people with hearing loss.  

Richard, a cochlear implant recipient, is one of the participants in "The Listening Project" who works as a software engineer.

Brodsky captured interviews of 15 individuals with hearing loss, most of whom Madell treated when they were children. Madell says filming  allowed her to reconnect with her former patients to “see what they had to say about growing up with a hearing loss and what advice they might have for parents of newly identified children with hearing loss.”

The subjects of “The Listening Project” are vibrant young adults living and working all over the world—connected by their gratitude for the technologies and treatments that enable them to hear and talk. The majority are cochlear implant recipients, while the remainder wear hearing aids. They experienced similar anxieties, including not being able to hear everything in social settings, disclosing hearing loss to new acquaintances, and accepting their hearing loss.

If not for modern medical progress, the film’s subjects may not ever have been able to overcome these hurdles. When Madell began her career in audiology 45 years ago, hearing loss treatments were very restrictive. Only children with mild to moderate hearing loss could hear well with hearing aids, and the Food and Drug Administration had not yet approved cochlear implants. Such limitations challenged Madell emotionally early in her practice. Though she smiled and appeared optimistic in front of her patients and their families following a hearing loss diagnosis, she knew how hard they would need to work with inadequate accommodations for their children to succeed.

Madell’s former patients and millions of others are fortunate  changes in hearing technology and policies in recent decades have been dramatic. “We are so lucky we live now and not 30 years ago, 40 years ago,” says one. Another young man adds that the ability to communicate and feel comfortable doing so is “a core human value.” Advancements have made it possible for children with hearing loss to learn spoken language, which Madell believes is critical for educational, social, and professional development and gives them options they would not have otherwise.

Madell hopes the personal stories in “The Listening Project” will help parents of newly diagnosed children, as well as legislators, educators, and healthcare workers. “Parents of children with hearing loss have told me that if they had seen the film before the diagnosis, it would have been easier to deal with,” she says. It shows parents that with the resources and hearing technology available today, hearing and speech are possible for every child.

To learn more about the film for either personal or educational use, visit thelisteningprojectfilm.org.

Making Entertainment Relatable and Accessible for More

By C. Adrean Mejia

Films, plays, and television series have long served as platforms to create awareness of important topics that have otherwise been kept out of the spotlight. Hearing loss is one example of such a topic.

As an organization that seeks to inform the public about the prevalence, prevention, and treatment of hearing loss, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) applauds the growing prioritization of this issue in entertainment. We are pleased to know that the number of films featuring characters with hearing loss—played by actors with hearing loss—has risen with the years, generating greater public awareness of the third most common health condition in the United States. Complementing this trend of an increased presence of hearing loss on screen is the introduction of recent legislation to make entertainment more accessible to viewers with hearing loss.

Actors and characters with hearing loss expand society’s understanding of the condition. Hearing loss empowers abilities, emotions, and experiences unlike those of people with typical hearing. Some recent works with characters with hearing loss include the following:

The Silent Child tells the story of a profoundly deaf four-year-old girl who is about to attend a mainstream school with minimal support—until a social worker teaches her American Sign Language (ASL). The film communicates the disappointing statistic that over 78% of deaf children attend mainstream school without accommodations. A final comment that states that the creators “hope this film contributes in the fight for sign language to be recognized in every school across the globe.”

Children of a Lesser God, a play written in 1979, made its Broadway debut last April. The piece focuses on the professional and romantic relationship between a deaf janitor and a typical hearing teacher and shows the contrasting worlds off sound and silence. To Sarah, the janitor, deafness is an identity, not a defect.  

This Close is a TV series by two deaf writers and actors that narrates the true story of their lives. The show provides a close look of the everyday day life of two best friends, emphasizing their challenges and frustrations while highlighting the positive and beautiful things that their hearing loss brings to their existence.

HHF commends these and the artists behind similar works for the awareness their creations have generated. Likewise, the organization is proud to witness the introduction of new laws and procedures to make entertainment more accessible to the hearing loss community.

Credit: Naugatuck Patch

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) first broke barriers by advocating for the requirement that all video program distributors close caption their TV shows. But it wasn’t until recently, with the help of technology, that these rules have expanded. On November 2016, the Final Rule on the ADA Title III was signed, requiring all American movie theaters to provide accessibility for captions. Large cinemas now offer assistive listening, closed captions, and descriptive audio.

Broadway, too, has made tremendous improvements. In 2016, the Theater Development Fund (TDF) and The Broadway League, launched www.theatreaccess.nyc, a website with information about tickets prices, dates and accommodations for theatergoers with disabilities. In addition, TDF now provides accessibility programs with open captioning and/or ASL at select Broadway performances.

Entertainment has made progress in becoming more inclusive for people with hearing loss since the implementation of these programs, but additional work is needed. Though mandating captioning at movie theaters represents great progress, other entertainment settings, including sports arenas and concert halls, must follow suit.

To optimize the listening experience for audience members with hearing loss, more must adopt the use of hearing loops, which transmit sound from a PA system to hearing aids and cochlear implants. In December 2017, the state of Minnesota passed a bill requiring hearing loops in public meeting spaces, taking after similar New York City legislation from earlier in 2017.

HHF looks forward to a day where no one must live with hearing loss. As long as hearing remains out of reach for tens of million Americans, fair accommodations are the most ethical choice.

Let’s Make Noise Safer

By Vicky Chan

April 25 is International Noise Awareness Day, an annual, vital reminder to take a stand against noise exposure and to spread awareness about the underestimated threat of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Seemingly harmless rhythms, roars, and blasts heard daily from music, trains, and machinery are, in fact, among the top offenders of NIHL.

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) progressively occurs after chronic exposure to loud sounds. The frequency and intensity of the sound level, measured in decibels (dB), increases the risk of NIHL. Gradual hearing loss can result from prolonged contact with noise levels of 85 dB or greater, such as heavy city traffic. Noises of 110 dB or more, like construction (110 dB), an ambulance (120dB), or the pop of firecrackers (140-165 dB) can damage one’s hearing in a minute’s time.

NIHL is the only type of hearing loss that is completely preventable, yet billions of individuals endanger themselves daily. Over 1.1 billion young adults ages 12 to 35—an age group that frequently uses headphones to listen to music—are at risk. Already, an estimated 12.5% of young people ages of 6 to 19 have hearing loss as a result of using earbuds or headphones at a high volume. A device playing at maximum volume (105 dB) is dangerous, so exposure to sounds at 100 dB for more than 15 minutes is highly discouraged.

Most major cities around the world have transit systems that put commuters in contact with sounds at 110 dB. BBC News found that London’s transit systems can get as loud as 110 dB, which is louder than a nearby helicopter taking off. The sound levels of some stations exceed the threshold for which occupational hearing protection is legally required. New York City has one of the largest and oldest subway systems in the world where 91% of commuters exceed the recommended levels of noise exposure annually. In a study on Toronto’s subway system, 20% of intermittent bursts of impulse noises were greater than 114 dB.

People who work in certain fields are more vulnerable to NIHL than others. Professional musicians, for instance, are almost four times as likely to develop NIHL than the general public. Military personnel, who are in extremely close proximity to gunfire and blasts, are more likely to return home from combat with hearing loss and/or tinnitus than any other type of injury. And airport ground staff are surrounded by high-frequency aircraft noises at 140 dB. In all of these professions, the hazard of NIHL can be significantly mitigated with hearing protection.

NIHL is permanent. Increased exposure to excess noise destroys the sensory cells in the inner ears (hair cells), which decreases hearing capacity and leads to hearing loss. Once damaged, the sensory cells cannot be restored. To find a solution, Hearing Health Foundation’s (HHF) Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) conducts groundbreaking research on inner ear hair cell regeneration in hopes of discovering a life-changing cure.

Nearly three-quarters of those who are exposed to loud noises rarely or never use hearing protection. It is our dream that someday, NIHL will be reversible as a result of the HRP. Until then, to make noise safer, HHF advises protection by remembering to Block, Walk, and Turn. Block out noises by wearing earplugs or protective earmuffs. Walk away or limit exposure to high-levels of noises. Turn down the volume of electronic devices.

Study Suggests that Nursing Homes Ignore Residents’ Hearing Loss

By Robert Polner

Over the past decade, hearing loss has emerged as a key issue in aging and health.  The problem affects over 80% of people aged 80 and over. Hearing loss is associated with social isolation, depression, and cognitive impairment --- all problems that are common among nursing home residents.

Yet the problem of hearing loss has not received much attention in the nursing home world.

Photo Credit: Senior Guidance

“Hearing loss is often seen as an inevitable consequence of aging,” said Professor Jan Blustein, M.D., Ph.D., professor of health policy and management at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the senior author of a study published today (Jan. 30) in The BMJ. “Many people just don’t appreciate how much hearing loss disrupts understanding and communication, and what a toll that takes in the lives of vulnerable older people.”

Prior studies in single nursing homes have shown that staff are often unaware that residents are having difficulty hearing.  But Blustein and her colleagues found that this appears to be a national trend.  Using data that all US nursing homes are required to report to the federal government known as the Minimum Data Set (MDS), the researchers found that in 2016, over two-thirds (68%) of long-stay nursing home residents over the age of 70 reportedly had adequate hearing, meaning that “they had no difficulty in normal conversation, social interaction, or listening to TV.”  The researchers compared this with previously reported data on elderly people outside of nursing homes, and argue that the reported rate in nursing homes is implausibly low.

“While prior small studies have shown that nursing home staff underestimate hearing problems, the data strongly point to a national problem,” said Blustein.

According to co-author and geriatrician Joshua Chodosh, M.D. of the NYU School of Medicine, recognition and treatment of hearing loss is “low hanging fruit for those who care for elderly people. Once you’re aware that hearing loss may be a problem, there are many ways to help,” said Chodosh. “Speaking clearly and facing the person when you talk is a good way to start.  But patients should be referred to an audiologist.  If buying hearing aids is within financial reach, that may be a good step. But there are other low-cost hearing assistance solutions such as pocket amplifiers that cost about $150 that can be very helpful in communicating with older people with hearing loss.”

As Blustein notes, “Hearing loss disrupts communication, leaving those affected especially vulnerable to social isolation and depression. Nursing homes could make a big difference in residents’ lives by attending to the issue.  This would not only be good clinical practice;  it would also be compliant with the law, since the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that homes offer ‘effective communication’ with residents.”

This press release was republished with permission from NYU. View the original article here.

The Strength of Our Olympians

By Vicky Chan

The competitors in this year’s Winter Olympics are full of drive and determination. Olympians throughout history have overcome various challenges for a chance to win the gold, including hearing loss. Hearing loss has played a big role in the lives of some Olympians. In spite of their disability, or, perhaps, because of it, hard-of-hearing Olympians have thrived as athletes. Rather than viewing their hearing loss as a limitation, these Olympians—our very own Gold Medalists—have claimed that compromised hearing has shaped their work ethics and contributed to their success.

Adam Rippon

American Figure skater Adam Rippon. Credit: Jim Gensheimer/Bay Area News Group.

Adam Rippon is a figure skater participating in the 2018 Olympics. He was born with an eye infection and 80% hearing loss. Before his first birthday, he had major surgeries to correct both issues. At age 5, he survived a bursted appendix and severe respiratory condition. Despite his early health difficulties, he won a gold medal at the Four Continent Championship and the national title in 2016.

Tamika Catchings

Tamika Catchings is a retired American WNBA star who was born with hearing loss. She participated in more than 15 WNBA seasons and won four Olympic Gold Medals. Catchings has attributed her success to her hearing loss—compared to her typical-hearing opponents, she is more observant on court which allows her to react faster than they can. Catchings said, “As a young child, I remember being teased for...my big, clunky hearing aids, and the speech problems...Every day was a challenge for me...I outworked [the kids who made fun of me], plain and simple.”

Frank Bartolillo

Frank Bartolillo is an Australian fencer who competed in the 2004 Olympics. He was born with hearing loss, but Bartolillo states that his hearing loss has actually helped him improve his fencing skills by allowing him to fully focus on his opponent.

Carlo Orlandi

Carlo Orlandi was an Italian boxer. At age 18, Orlandi became the first deaf athlete to compete and win a Gold Medal in the 1928 Olympics. Later, he became a professional boxer with a career that spanned 15 years and won nearly 100 matches.

David Smith

David Smith is an American volleyball player who was born with severe hearing loss. At age three, he was fitted for hearing aids in both ears. As an athlete, he relies heavily on hand signals and lip reading to communicate with his teammates. On the court, Smith can’t wear his hearing aid, so his coach, John Speraw, uses the “David Smith Rule.” This rule mandates that “when David wants it, David takes it,'" says Speraw. "Because in the middle of a play, you can't call him off...He's mitigated any issues he has by being a great all-around volleyball player."

Chris Colwill

Chris Colwill is an American diver who was born with hearing loss. Although his hearing aid allows him to hear at an 85-90% level, he can not use it while diving and relies on the scoreboard for his cue to dive. But Colwill stated that this is an advantage for him—noise from the crowd doesn’t distract his concentration on diving.

Katherine Merry

Katherine Merry is a former English sprinter who won a Bronze Medal in the 2000 Olympics. At age 30, she developed tinnitus when a nurse made a mistake during a routine ear cleaning procedure. Ever since, she has lived with a constant high-pitch buzzing sound in her ears. It becomes worse when she is tired, overworked or on a flight. Today, Merry works as a BBC Sports Presenter.

These Olympians prove that those affected by hearing loss can pursue successful careers in sports. Refusing to let anything hold them back, they turned their disabilities into advantages in their respective competitions. Hearing loss allows them to block out distractions and focus on the sport. Their disability has shaped their determination, forcing them to become stronger and better athletes.

HHF Partner Hyperacusis Research Shares 14-Year-Old’s Heartbreaking Story to Fight Noise Intolerance

Photo Credit: Hyperacusis Research

By Lauren McGrath

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) Emerging Research Grants (ERG) grant funder Hyperacusis Research—a nonprofit dedicated to developing effective treatments for hyperacusis and to funding research that will eliminate the underlying mechanisms that cause hyperacusis—has a new reason to fight to cure the noise intolerance disorder.

Cindy, 14 years old, has suffered from hyperacusis since she was blasted in the face with an airhorn one year ago. The blast almost immediately prompted “a burst of pain in [her] ear” that made it “feel like someone was stabbing [her].” Six months and several doctors’ visits later, an occupational therapist recognized her symptoms and diagnosed her with the disorder, which causes Cindy to experience pain at low levels of sound relative to what a person with typical hearing can withstand.

Once a happy and social eighth-grader, Cindy now rarely leaves her home. Secluded from the painful sounds of the outside world, her house has become “her sanctuary,” her mother explains. Her intolerance of everyday noises like the school cafeteria and teachers’ voices has forced her to leave public school in exchange for an isolating homeschool experience. “The thing I hate most is that I can’t see friends,” Cindy shares.

Cindy suffers from one of four hyperacusis subtypes called pain hyperacusis. The other three types, according to Hyperacusis Research, are loudness hyperacusis (which causes moderately intense sounds to be perceived as very loud), annoyance hyperacusis (which causes negative emotional reactions to sounds), and fear hyperacusis (which prompts an aversive response to sounds that causes anticipatory response and avoidance behavior). Specific medical treatments, at the moment,  do not yet exist for pain hyperacusis.

Those inspired to help Cindy can donate to Hyperacusis Research to advance the ontological knowledge of hyperacusis through research grants, including those awarded to HHF’s ERG investigators.

Since 2015, Hyperacusis Research has generously funded grants for a total of five ERG investigators focused on hyperacusis at the University at Buffalo, Oregon Health and Science University, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. You can learn more about our ERG researchers’ efforts to better understand the mechanisms, causes, diagnosis, and treatments of hyperacusis and severe forms of loudness intolerance here.

We need your help supporting innovative hearing and balance science through our Emerging Research Grants program. Please make a contribution today.