Bumping Into People With Hearing Loss

By Kathi Mestayer

Recently I was backing out of my parking spot in the Barnes & Noble parking lot. I noticed another car in my rear-view mirror, backing up right behind me, approaching my bumper with apparent disregard, and so I finally beeped my horn. A couple of times. Loud. Well, that bumper kept coming, and then hit mine, not hard, but a definite impact. The car pulled out and drove away.

So, I do what anyone would do in that situation—I make a note of the licence plate, and followed it. After a couple of blocks, the car turns into another parking lot. I park behind it, knock on the window, and when it rolls down, said, "Did you know you just hit me in the Barnes & Noble parking lot?"

"No! Oh! I'm so sorry!" said the driver. She lifts up the back door of her SUV, showing me the cute little toys (including a tiny toy stroller) she had bought for her grandchildren. She thought the impact was one of them hitting the back window, or just falling over.

"Didn't you hear me blow my horn?"

"No! You blew your horn?"

"Are you hard of hearing?"

"Yes! I had my hearing tested and they told me I have a hearing loss, but to come back when I can't hear anymore."

"What?!"

What ensued was a few minutes of conversation in which I shared this information:

1) Go back now to get your hearing loss treated. If you didn't hear my horn when our cars were 12 inches to zero inches apart, that's not a good sign.

2) You can't locate sounds because you have a much worse loss in one ear. The driver acknowledged she was almost completely deaf in one ear.

3) Go to a good audiologist, not a testing closet in the back corner of your pharmacy (really!).

At the end, she said, "I just know there's a reason we were brought together! Give me a hug?"

We had a big, warm hug and went our separate ways.

How to Handle the Holidays When You Have a Hearing Loss

By Shari Eberts

My post How to Tackle Thanksgiving Dinner When You Have a Hearing Loss received so many helpful tips in the comments, I decided to incorporate them into a new post that focuses on the holidays more generally. Thank you to everyone who shared their ideas! There were so many great ones. I wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season!

The holidays are a great time of year, filled with family dinners and celebrations, gatherings with friends, holiday parties, and lots of socializing. I love getting dressed up, enjoying the decorations and participating in the general feeling of happiness that comes along with the season. But if I’m not careful, all the socializing and holiday hubbub can become exhausting and overwhelming. I want to be a part of the fun, but the concentration required to hear can be taxing, particularly at holiday parties held in noisy restaurants or similar venues.

But, let’s NOT let that put a damper on the holiday season! I hope these tips will help you approach the holiday season with more joy and less fear. Please let me know your suggestions in the comments.

Living With Hearing Loss’s Tips to Survive and Thrive at Holiday Gatherings

1. Position yourself in a good spot: For me, it is very helpful if I have a wall behind me to block the background noise. If it is a seated meal, I try to sit near the middle of the table, which gives me a better shot at hearing more conversation. If it is a cocktail party, I scope out a quieter area of the room away from the music and high traffic areas like the buffet or bar area and try to spend time there. If the party is in multiple rooms, I head to the quieter room. You can invite some friends to come with you. I bet they will enjoy the lower volume too.
   

2. Avoid background noise when possible: If I am hosting, I always keep background music to a minimum. Other hosts may like to play music more loudly. Try asking your host to lower the volume a bit or to adjust the volume in different parts of the room or venue. I always ask restaurants to turn down the volume of the music too!
   

3. Converse with those next to you: At a seated dinner, don’t try to participate in conversations across large distances. If you would like to talk with someone, move closer to him, or ask that you continue the conversation when you have a chance to be closer together. If it is a party with multiple rooms, you can ask someone to join you in a quieter spot.
   

4. Wear your hearing aids: Many of us hate to wear our hearing aids, but they really can help. Experiment with a couple of different settings to find what is optimal. You can even practice at home if you don’t want to spend time experimenting at the event. It may take some time getting used to the new setting, but the investment of that time will be worth it.
   

5. Try other technologies: There are many new technologies now available that can help you hear in a group setting including personal FM systems or other one to one communication devices. Some of my friends swear by these.
   

6. Have reasonable expectations: You probably won’t hear everything that everyone says, but that is ok. Enjoy talking to the people near you, then seek out others to talk with during other parts of the party.
   

7. Take a break: Don’t be shy about taking a break from the action for a few minutes to give your ears and brain a rest. Head to the restroom, or find a quiet spot in another room. Or go stand outside for a few minutes. It really helps me to clear my head and build up some energy for another round of socializing.
   

8. Don’t fake it: It is very tempting to just nod along and pretend that you hear what others are saying or laugh just because others are laughing. But it can be dangerous, particularly if someone is asking you a question. Be brave and be honest with others if you are having trouble hearing. It will make your interactions more memorable on both sides.
   

9. Give visual clues to indicate if you are having trouble hearing: If you are having trouble hearing, you can cup your ear with your hand to indicate to the speaker to speak louder without interrupting the flow of the conversation. I have seen this in action and it is very effective.
   

10. Bring your sense of humor: It can be hard to keep it all in perspective during the holidays when you feel like you are missing out on the fun, but try to laugh a little and be grateful for the wonderful friends and family around you. You may not hear every word they say, but you can partake in all of the good feelings nonetheless. Try to enjoy the moment.

Readers, what tips do you have for enjoying the holidays when you have a hearing loss?

To read more posts by Shari Eberts, please visit her blog, Living With Hearing Loss

Puro Sound Labs Officially Launches Hearing-healthy Headphones for The Entire Family to Enjoy

California-based company to debut with the first ever studio-grade Bluetooth wireless headphones for kids

LA JOLLA, Calif., December 18, 2014 – Puro Sound Labs, a premiere consumer electronics audio company, is proud to announce their official launch into the market today. The company will provide consumers with premium quality, hearing-healthy, contemporary designed on-ear and over-ear headphone monitors at disruptive prices. Puro Sound Labs introduces the BT2200, Bluetooth “Kid-friendly” headphones with built-in volume optimization. This is the first in a line of products that aim to deliver this unique experience and value.  

The Puro Sound Labs BT2200 are Bluetooth headphones created specifically for kids and designed with the health and safety of a child as a priority. They will be the first ever and only studio-grade Bluetooth headphones on the market made especially for kids with volume limiting ear protection. Volume levels over 85 decibels (dB) have been known to cause hearing loss over time. Their unique headphone design protects children’s ears, while delivering studio-grade sound. With hearing health and education in mind, Puro Sound has committed to donating a portion of every sale of all Puro Sound products through 2015 to the Hearing Health Foundation.

“Noise-induced hearing loss is 100% preventable; however prolonged exposure to sounds that are 85 decibels (dB) or above, such as loud music, is often the culprit. By placing an 85 dB volume limit on their headphones, Puro Sound is taking significant strides towards protecting children’s hearing against premature hearing loss. We are excited to work together to achieve the same goal of both educating and providing consumers with hearing-friendly solutions,” said Claire Schultz, CEO, Hearing Health Foundation. “We are looking forward to their continued support and their on-going efforts towards our collective cause.” To find out more about safe listening levels and how to prevent hearing loss, visit us here.

Puro Sound Labs headphones are designed with a unique frequency response curve called Puro Balanced Response®, designed to recreate the natural sound produced in a perfectly tuned listening room in the headphone listening experience. This helps to maximize the satisfaction of Healthy Ears® hearing protection.

Great care has gone into the design and materials used in the headphones. A soft and supple cushioning material and durable lightweight aluminum are used to make the headphones comfortable for young ears and to stand up to everyday use. Their design also attenuates 82% of ambient noise, eliminating a need for higher volume limits. When combined, Puro’s Balanced Response® Curve and the headphones’ noise attenuation design, kids can enjoy their music with no need to exceed safe playback levels.

Parents will love them for their great value and hearing health while kids will love them for their comfort, wireless Bluetooth freedom and great sound. Plus, when employing Bluetooth wireless technology, the chance of a child getting tangled or caught on the headphones’ cable is reduced.

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• Unique volume governor system that limits sound output on most portable devices to 85 dB for parents’ peace of mind

• Puro Limiter cable insures 85 dB sound limit for the auxiliary wired experience

• Puro Balanced Response® equally balances bass, mids and highs, delivering clear, understandable vocal reproduction without excessive volume

• Ambient noise limiting by up to 82%* - even in noisy environments like an airplane, allowing for reasonable listening levels

• Integrated microphone for seamless use with a phone

• 18 Hours of Battery Life for Music Playback & 200 Hours Standby

• Durable, Lightweight Aluminum Construction

• Supple Protein Leather Ear Cushions and Headband

• Puro EQ App for iOS (Android coming soon)

• Folds Flat for Travel

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Puro Sound has also developed the Puro Sound Equalizer App, an iOS 16-band EQ application that allows headphones to be customized to the listener's sound and genre preferences. A version of the app for Android devices will be available after the first of the year.

“Using only the very best of science and engineering available, we have mastered the art of methodically replicating big room sound by fine-tuning our audio products with our signature Puro Balanced Response Curve. We are creating products that will lead to a new generation of premium sound entertainment and I am excited about what’s to come in 2015,” said Jason Wehner, CTO of Puro Sound Labs.

The “Kid-friendly” Puro Sound Labs BT2200 will be available for $79.99 in White/silver and Tan/gold colors and available through authorized online resellers including amazon.com and purosound.com.

*Source: Puro Sound Labs

About Puro Sound Labs
Established in 2014, Puro Sound Labs is a premiere consumer electronics audio company that designs innovative and audiophile quality audio products. Using only the very best of science and engineering available, Puro Sound Labs engineers have been able to master the art of methodically replicating big room sound and fine-tuning audio and introducing a new generation of premium sound entertainment. You know great sound when you hear it – Puro Sound Labs know the science behind creating it. For more information please visit www.purosound.com. 

About Hearing Health Foundation
Hearing Health Foundation is the largest private funder of hearing research, with a mission to prevent and cure hearing loss through groundbreaking research. Since 1958 Hearing Health Foundation has given away millions of dollars to hearing and balance research, including work that led to cochlear implant technology and now through the Hearing Restoration Project is working on a cure for hearing loss. Hearing Health Foundation also publishes Hearing Health magazine, a free consumer resource on hearing loss and related technology, research, and products. To learn more, subscribe to our magazine, or support this work, visit www.hhf.org.

When Everyday Noise Is Unbearable

By Pallavi Bharadwaj

Like many people, George Rue loved music. He played guitar in a band. He attended concerts often. In his late 20s, he started feeling a dull ache in his ears after musical events. After a blues concert almost nine years ago, “I left with terrible ear pain and ringing, and my life changed forever,” said Rue, 45, of Waterford, Connecticut. He perceived all but the mildest sounds as not just loud, but painful. It hurt to hear.

Mr. Rue was given a diagnosis of hyperacusis, a nonspecific term that has assorted definitions, including “sound sensitivity,” “decreased sound tolerance,” and “a loudness tolerance problem.”

Hyperacusis can be extremely debilitating, and at present, there is no cure. The researchers in The American Journal of Audiology study provided an overview of the field, and possible related areas, in the hope of facilitating future research. They reviewed and referenced literature on hyperacusis and related areas. This study has been funded by Hyperacusis Research and Hearing Health Foundation. 

Hyperacusis encompasses a wide range of reactions to sound, which can be grouped into the categories of excessive loudness, annoyance, fear, and pain. Many different causes have been proposed, and it will be important to appreciate and quantify different subgroups. Reasonable approaches to assessing the different forms of hyperacusis are emerging, including psychoacoustical measures, questionnaires, and brain imaging. Hyperacusis can make life difficult for many, forcing sufferers to dramatically alter their work and social habits.

Loud noises, even when they aren’t painful, can damage both the sensory cells and sensory nerve fibers of the inner ear over time, causing hearing impairment, said M. Charles Liberman, a professor of otology at Harvard Medical School, who heads a hearing research lab at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. And for some people who are susceptible, possibly because of some combination of genes that gives them “tender” ears, noise sets in motion “an anomalous response,” he said.

This article has been adapted from a post on The New York Times’s Wellness blog. To read the original article, please click here.

For information about tinnitus (ringing in the ears), please see these resources on the HHF website.

Read the story on Hyperacusis on HHF’s website.

What Is That Noise? My Take on Living with Tinnitus

By Shari Eberts

I have a 40-50% hearing loss in both of my ears, but only mild tinnitus.  I am grateful for that.  Sometimes I feel that the tinnitus is worse than the hearing loss!  Unexplained sounds buzzing and whistling in your head can make you question your sanity.  And give you the worst headache known to man.  The lack of sound seems almost a relief in retrospect.

Thus far, I have experienced two types of tinnitus. The first has been occurring on and off for several years and is not that troublesome.  I am not sure what the trigger is, or even if there is a trigger, but all of a sudden, I will hear a sound like a fluorescent light was just turned on, followed by a high-pitched beeeeeeeep that lasts for 30-60 seconds.  It will often start softly; build to a crescendo, and then taper off, like someone has turned the fluorescent light back off.  It happens in noise and in silence.  It comes and it goes, maybe once or twice a week.  Strange, but not bad.

But recently, a new type of tinnitus has started, and this one is more debilitating. Again, I’m not sure if there is a specific trigger, but it seems to happen more often after I am exposed to rhythmic loud noises (like a bathroom fan) or to bright lights.  It starts suddenly, is much louder than my friend the fluorescent light, and can continue for an hour or more.  It is exhausting.  I cannot think.  I can’t hear what people are saying to me over the ringing. I want to lie down, but sometimes that is not possible.  I work to focus on the real sounds around me and carry on. 

To read more, please click here. 

Shari Eberts is Board Chair, HHF. She regularly writes on her blog and tweets at @sharieberts. 

Marion Downs Appreciation

By Amy Gross

I had no idea how influential Marion Downs had been—and at the time, still was—regarding newborn infant screening, but it didn't take much research to discover that this woman was a big, big deal. I don't know why, but her passing on November 13, 2014, caught me by surprise. It didn't matter that she had reached her 100th birthday; I, like many of her fans, found it difficult to accept that the force known as Marion Downs had moved on, peacefully, in her sleep.

Marion (she wouldn't let me call her "Ms. Downs") was 92 when we spoke. She was still skiing and swimming and playing tennis competitively, and one of the photos in “Shut Up and Live!” showed her gleefully skydiving with a handsome young instructor (she made sure to point out the "handsome" part several times). I had read every word of her book, in which she provided candid advice for anyone dealing with the aging process: the importance of weight training, why hearing aids are critical in the health of a marriage, and how to maintain a healthy sex life into one's senior years. I loved that she was able to make me blush more than a few more times; the woman minced no words.

What had put Marion Downs on the map, audiologically speaking, were her pioneering efforts, beginning in the early 1960s, in the essentially unheard-of area of infant hearing testing. An audiologist herself, Marion and a research partner started hearing testing for newborns before those infants had even left the hospital, fitting even the tiniest babies with hearing aids. Today, thanks to Early Hearing and Detection Intervention programs, 97 percent of newborns have their hearing screened. Knowing what we know today about the importance of hearing with respect to language and even cognitive development in extremely young children, there's no telling how many infants with hearing loss were identified as such in a timely manner, and their developmental skills saved, because of Marion Downs's work.  

The Marion Downs Center in Denver, Colorado, a nonprofit organization that espouses, as Marion did herself, a cradle to grave approach in dealing with hearing loss, will continue her efforts in advocating for those with hearing loss. Marion was a visionary in the world of hearing health. Her legacy lives on, quite visibly, in the children whose lives she touched.

Hearing Health Foundation at Partnering for Cures 2014

By Pallavi Bharadwaj

Convened by FasterCures, the Washington, D.C.-based center of the Milken Institute, the conference will bring together nearly 1,000 medical research leaders, investors and decision-makers to forge the collaborations needed to speed and improve outcomes-driven R&D. The ongoing promise of hair-cell regeneration is closer to reality than ever.

Hearing Health Foundation’s Hearing Restoring Project consortium has identified major roadblocks that have stymied the field, and has designed rational approaches to overcome these barriers.

Partnering for Cures is designed to facilitate informed investments and cultivate relationships, adapting the outcomes-oriented approach of investor conferences, and building on the networking opportunities at industry partnering meetings. In addition to innovator presentations, it also features panels that spotlight solutions to long-standing challenges in medical research.

 “We are very pleased to be present and participate in this conference. It is a unique opportunity to raise visibility for hearing loss and the path to a cure among an important audience.” says Claire Schultz, CEO HHF.

Hearing Health Foundation is one of 30 innovators presenting their cross-sector research collaboration to potential partners and funders at the conference.  Selected through a competitive proposal process, each partnership is aimed at reducing the time and cost of getting new medical solutions from discovery to patients.

“These collaborations address some of the thorniest issues in medical research using models that can be scaled and translated across diseases,” said FasterCures’ Executive Director Margaret Anderson.

“From re-imagining clinical trial infrastructure to improving and expanding data sharing, to creating the tools and resources needed to translate basic science into cures, they are accelerating the path from lab to market for novel – and needed – therapies.”

For more information and to register for the conference, go to www.partneringforcures.org

To know more on HHF’s Hearing Restoration Project presentation at Parterning for Cures 2014, please click here. 

Constant Companion

By Bill Meehan

I am a rock drummer. As a teen and young adult, we played very loud and for hours at a stretch. I sensed nothing bad happening at the time besides some bothersome post-concert ringing in my ears. I was in my 20s and invincible. 

In my early 30s I noticed a slight ringing in my ears for the first time—without a loud event as the cause. It was troublesome enough that I went to the doctor. After a thorough examination I heard that word for the first time: “tinnitus.” Okay, great, there is a name for this. “What pill do I take?” I asked the doctor. “There is no treatment currently,” he said with a knowing smile and walked out the door. Seriously, he walked out the door and didn’t even give me a chance to ask another question. I sat there for a moment in the empty examination room and listened to the ringing in my ears for a few minutes in disbelief. Will I never be able to sit in a quiet room again?

I lived with this for years and it was only troubling in very quiet surroundings. A fan blowing or a TV playing in the background was usually enough to drown out the faint, high-pitch ringing.

Then one day it all changed. I was watching TV and noticed a loud sound of crickets. I thought it must be the TV. I turned off the TV and still heard the clear and very loud sound of crickets mixed with a high-pitched tone. I was convinced the TV must be about to explode. I ran over and pulled out the plug. The sound was still there. I covered my ears and was horrified to realize the sound was in my own head. It was well over 100 decibels. I felt sick as the hours passed painfully and slowly. I didn’t sleep.

The next morning I went to the only doctor in all of San Francisco who could see me that day. After the exact same examinations I received years earlier, he told me that same thing, “Sorry, there is nothing I can do.”  

After a couple of weeks I was suicidal. Every day was torture. My only relief was to re-create the sound and pitch on my keyboard and play it at maximum volume. When I stopped playing the loud tone I had 10 seconds of relative peace and then the tinnitus came back. I did this over and over again.

Six weeks had gone by and I noticed a slight reduction in the volume. It was something to hold out onto—a little bit of hope. Could it actually be decreasing even though several doctors told me there was no hope? Little by little, day by day, I found moments of peace and an overall easing of the torment. Finally it was bearable most of the time.

A few years later I had another acute attack, but this time I knew there was hope and light on the other side. I went to an upscale doctor who specialized in tinnitus. He had awards all over his wall. He must be good, right? I told my tale. I told him about the acute attack that lasted for weeks, that it was much worse after waking from a nap, and that the ambient noise level had no impact on severity. He was a much-lauded doctor who specializes in tinnitus and I thought he would understand. “That’s not how it works,” he said, as he walked out of the room.

I now have a hearing aid I wear (I have mild-moderate hearing loss) that gives me some relief during the worst bouts. I wear it in my left ear. I also have an app on my phone that can help soothe me to sleep using white noise. I still play the drums, but they are electronic and I can control the volume. I can live a full and rewarding life, but my tinnitus is always there—my constant companion.

One Day in 1967

By Michele Ahlman

Growing up, I remember thinking how cool it was that I had a German birth certificate: a hand-typed, raggedy piece of paper identifying, in German, my birth in a U.S. Army hospital in Heidelberg.

In the late ’60s my dad, Richard Uzuanis, was a 23-year old tank commander for the 3rd Battalion 68th Armor stationed in Mannheim. I’ve always known my dad lost a lot of his hearing while serving in the military. But we never talked about it or the impact it had, until recently. Apparently, during a live fire tank gunnery exercise in 1967, one of the tanks misfired. And at the time, hearing protection was not standard-issue equipment.

It was Dad’s responsibility to remove the misfire. “I got into the tank and opened the breach to remove the misfired round,” he says. “But the round was swollen due to overheating. I couldn’t get it out or close the breach. As I moved quickly to evacuate through the tank hatch, the round exploded, sending me 20 feet in the air.”

To read the full article, please visit the Fall 2015 Issue of Hearing Health Magazine.

If you are a veteran, current service member, or have family or friends who have bravely served our country, review these resources about hearing loss and tinnitus.

Show support for our veterans via one of these ways:

• Sharing your hearing loss or tinnitus story

• Donating at the workplace

• Donating via HHF’s website

• Reading and sharing the veterans’ special issue of Hearing Health magazine

Show our Veterans that You Are Hear For A Cure

By Pallavi Bharadwaj

“I served for a total of 11 years in the Army and Air Force. I have tinnitus in both ears, especially the left. It was horrible at first. The hearing problems are a direct result of gunfire and loud jet engines while on flight line duty. I left the service because of my hearing problems. I was afraid to ever fire a gun again or to be in a situation where I would be exposed to small arms fire or explosions that would make the ringing worse,” says Nathan Heltzel, who now lives with hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing) in both ears.

Can you imagine returning home after serving in the military for your country without your hearing and with constant ringing in your ears?

Tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) are the number one and two war wounds among veterans returning home. In the past decade, over one million service members have been impacted by tinnitus, hearing loss, and/or other auditory disorders.

To provide support to the community of veterans with hearing problems, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) launched a veterans’ resource center on our website. This section is designed to help veterans cope with hearing loss and tinnitus. Resources such as research updates on new treatment options, stories from veterans who have been affected, and topical features from Hearing Health magazine can be accessed here.

Most importantly, we would like to share with our service members the exciting prospect of a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus through our Hearing Restoration Project (HRP). The HRP is working to translate the ability in chickens to restore hearing for humans in order to deliver a cure for veterans, like Heltzel, and for all those suffering from hearing loss and tinnitus.

If you are a veteran, current service member, or have family or friends who have bravely served our country, review these resources about hearing loss and tinnitus.