At age 30 in the spring of 1960, I was diagnosed with otosclerosis and underwent stapedectomy surgery for my left ear. Due to a “sneeze” a few days after, the pin flew off the mount and ruptured the inner ear. I was left with no hearing in the left ear. The right ear with a simple hearing aid was fine. I was told a hearing aid will always benefit me due to the very slow progression of otosclerosis.
Processing Auditory Processing
In January 2018, working as a digital producer, I was running a test setup in the auditorium of a London art gallery. Due to faulty audio equipment, a large set of wall speakers blew right behind where I was standing, exposing me to an incredibly high-level sound blast.
More Than Winning
With the help of my employer, OneLife Fitness, I scheduled the challenge for my 55th birthday at the gym. I chose to pair the event with a fundraiser for HHF on Facebook, where I was able to not only raise funds, but bring more awareness into the community about the good work of HHF.
No Excuses
Around the age of 3 and a half, my parents started noticing that I was always turning my right ear to the person speaking. Something wasn’t right. I was not reacting to sounds the way the typical hearing child should. My parents took me to my pediatrician who referred us to an audiologist. On September 28, 2000, at age 4, I was diagnosed with bilateral moderate-severe sensorineural hearing loss and immediately fitted with hearing aids.
Meet Braden Baker: How One Kid Raised Thousands for People in Need of Hearing Aids
It all started with Braden’s dog, Chewy, who chewed up a then 10-year-old Braden’s expensive hearing aids one warm, June night in 2017—for the second time. Born with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, Braden, a now 13-year-old Fort Worth, Texas native, has worn hearing aids since he was seven months old. It turns out, Chewy has expensive taste as custom hearing aids can run from $1,000 to a whopping $6,000 dollars per pair.
Listening to The Story
I have some significant memories from childhood that have remained with me and influenced who I am today. One of my most special memories is of practicing speech and auditory therapy with my younger brother, Alex. Alex was born with hearing loss, so my mom and dad intervened early to ensure his future success with not only hearing, but also speech.
Hearing Loss to Hearing Recovery: My Detour-Filled Journey
No one anticipates a life-altering experience when you’re a college student living a seemingly carefree life with minimal interruptions, enjoying your youth, and spending most mornings sleeping in and watching SportsCenter. This is the typical college student life I envisioned, but it wasn’t the one I lived.
Hearing Well Matters — All Day, Every Day
When, 20 years ago, Delane started to lose her own hearing, she decided she would not let that happen to her. She wanted to remain vibrant and engaged with life—not invisible or isolated. Her audiologist, the same one she still sees at age 90, instructed her to wear her hearing aids all day, every day.
Veterans Leading the Way
HHF leaders John Dillard and Timothy Higdon are two U.S. Army veterans who bring, collectively, over four decades of military service to HHF as its Board of Directors chair and CEO, respectively. Here they share the perspectives and experiences gained from their service in the military and what they hope to accomplish in their new roles.
Out of My Shell
Hearing loss came into my life when I was a college junior. I would not have recognized my issues had I not been taking a class in speech education that included a unit on communication disorders.