If, like me, you have a hearing loss, you know what your hearing challenges are. But what about your friends and family? Do they have challenges communicating with you? I bet the answer is yes. Why wouldn’t they? Hearing loss is a communication disorder that affects all the people in our lives.
Just Because Hearing Loss Is Invisible Doesn’t Mean It’s Less Real
I think because I was in my 20s and thought working at a nightclub was fun and interesting, and I was surrounded by talented musicians and entertainers, I didn’t stop to consider that I was going to the equivalent of four concerts a week. Not even concerts with two-hour sets—more like multi-day music festivals with four bands each performing two-hour sets!
To Create a Culture Shift About Healthy Hearing, Start Young (and Other Key Strategies)
Finding answers to fundamental questions—such as, “Why does this age group enjoy loud sounds?,” “What impact does hearing damage have on this age group?,” “What will truly motivate them to use hearing protection devices?”—will help develop effective and sustainable hearing conservation programs.
10 Ways to Develop Accessibility in the Workplace
Accessibility is making sure everyone—whether disabled or abled—has easy access around the workplace as well as its facilities. The concept of accessibility at work goes far beyond physical access and involves so much more.
’Should I Get a Cochlear Implant?‘
For Alex, getting a haircut in town becomes an opportunity to talk about his cochlear implant with a curious stranger as well as reflect on his own experience getting an implant at a very young age.
Helping Others Has Helped Me
Despite all this, including owning earplugs, it didn’t occur to me until working on the Keep Listening prevention campaign for Hearing Health Foundation how damage to your hearing is cumulative, and that I’ve been doing additional damage to my hearing through some of my daily routines.
Charity Talks
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.
Let’s Let More People Learn About Hearing Loss
I would tell someone with a new diagnosis of hearing loss to persevere, know that you can get used to it, and think about the positives and not the negatives. It’s important that you don’t let people bring you down for wearing hearing aids. Take the opportunity to explain about hearing loss and using hearing aids. Let them know more about it!
A Veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq Urges Better Hearing Protection for Soldiers
We often hear about the devastating injuries sustained by soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Their suffering is profound and should be a bigger part of our national consciousness. We Americans should also talk about the most common disabilities experienced by veterans—hearing loss and tinnitus. These are less visible but insidious conditions that can seriously upend every aspect of veterans’ lives: their overall physical and psychological wellness, along with social interactions, even work performance.
6 Ways to Raise Youth Awareness of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Up to one in five school-aged children (ages 12–19 years) has measurable hearing loss as a result of excessive noise exposure. Noise-induced hearing loss not only affects a child's hearing ability but their academic performance, social interactions, and overall mental health and well-being.