Hearing Makes Me Happy!

By Alex Mussomeli

By all accounts Alex Mussomeli is a typical elementary school kid; he likes art, music, sports, cooking, and video games. But what is phenomenal about Alex is how much he is comfortable with and unfazed by his hearing loss, and also how much, for a 10-year-old, he understands the technology that helps him to hear. Diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss, Alex was fitted with hearing aids in both ears at age 3 months, and when he was 3 years old, he got a cochlear implant for his right ear. He continues to use both devices.

When his fourth grade teacher asked her students to write on a topic they know a lot about, Alex chose hearing loss and his hearing devices. The paper impressed the hearing-speech pathologist at school so much that it was shared on Speech4Hearing.com, a website that offers speech advice for parents of children with hearing loss. 

It also impressed us at Hearing Health Foundation (HHF). Here are some excerpts:

“There are two ways to help people with hearing loss hear,” Alex wrote. “One is a common way, a hearing aid, and the other way is not as common but is getting more common every day, which is a cochlear implant. I have both.”

“The reason people might need to get a cochlear implant is that they might not hear. They could be deaf or have hearing loss. The surgery of getting an implant can be a big decision. First the nurses give the patient sleeping medicine. Then, the surgeon drills into the skull. Next, the surgeon puts in a magnet. After the surgery you have to wait one month for the head to heal from the surgery.”

Once the healing period is over, the implant is turned on and it is programmed, or mapped, to fit the specific hearing requirements of the patient, and then the brain has to learn to process the sounds that the implant picks up and delivers directly to the brain via the auditory nerve. Nada Alsaigh, Alex’s mother, says Alex’s young age worked in his favor. “We were very lucky,” she says. “He was very fast learning how to use the implant to hear.”

“The way you hear with a hearing aid is like a first aid kit. The hearing aid assists the person in hearing,” Alex wrote in his paper. “An implant is better than a hearing aid because you can hear better with it. The reason is that the implant has a computer like processor that sends the sound through the nerve to the brain.”

Alex and his brother Joe, who is 12, are incredibly close. “We face challenges and we try to overcome them. This was a learning experience for all of us and made Joe more mature at a younger age. Joe is just a loving and supportive brother,” Nada Alsaigh says of Joe. The family treats Alex’s hearing loss as a part of who he is without defining who he is.

While thankful for existing technology, the family is also committed to helping HHF and its Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) find a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. The HRP is on track to determine how to regenerate the inner ear sensory cells that, when missing or damaged, lead to hearing loss. The promise of a biologic cure for hearing loss could potentially remove the issues of adapting to hardware for Alex and the 50 million other adults and children in the U.S. who have hearing loss.

Smart and thriving, Alex realizes he is fortunate:

"Hearing makes me happy!” Alex says. “I am grateful that my parents got me a hearing aid and a cochlear implant. Someday, I believe that we will find a cure to have hearing cells come back to life! We can't give up hope! Hearing Health Foundation can help us find the cure!"

Alex's paper on hearing loss is availible in full, here.

Imagine...

By Kori Linae Carothers

Imagine for a moment that someone says to you, “Because you have a partial hearing loss, you cannot be a musician.” That happened to me. My name is Kori Linae Carothers and I am a concert pianist and composer. I was born with a hearing loss in my left ear—at least, that is what the doctors always told my parents.

When my parents and I found out I had a hearing loss, it wasn’t a big deal since I didn’t feel any different. I could hear with my right ear. I had a slight slur in my speech but other than that, I felt like everyone else! I loved to dance, sing, talk, dream, and listen to music. Just like most kids my age, I was busy and lived life with gusto.

My love for life changed once kids realized I could not hear as well as they did. Partial hearing was a challenge to me growing up because I had to sit up front in the classroom to hear my teachers. When kids and adults found out about my hearing loss, the teasing began. My peers called me names like “deafy,” and more. What hurt the most was when people laughed at me when I did not get an answer right because I did not hear the question properly. My answers were often out of context.

When I told one of my music teachers in grade school I wanted to be a pianist, she laughed at me, telling me I didn’t have the hearing for it. What? Never tell me I can’t do something, because baby, I will prove you wrong! When I look back on those days I realize that while some of the teasing was cruel, I became a musician and found my true calling: composing and playing the piano.

Skipping forward many years when I got married, I gave up my music to be a wife and mom, but when my husband realized that music is such an essential part of who I am, he encouraged me to pursue it and I have since released four albums. My fifth album, “Fire in the Rainstorm,” is my first solo piano album, while the other four albums are electronic and acoustic albums.

I remember that my first live experience with other musicians was difficult, as I needed to wear in-ear monitoring ear buds in ears, including in my right (hearing) ear. At one of our rehearsals, when I mentioned how difficult it was for me to hear what the other musicians were doing, my friend turned to me and said, “You don’t have to do this.” Well, again don’t ever tell me what to do! I bought an Audio-Technica in-ear monitoring system, and VOILA, problem solved!

While I fully accept my hearing loss, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit being a pianist would be easier with full hearing. I have tried wearing a hearing aid, but with my type of hearing loss, it did not work for me. Recently I wondered if there are any organizations that are researching hearing loss, and what they were doing with that research, as I would love to one day benefit from a cure. With the help of a friend, I learned of Hearing Health Foundation. I was SO impressed with the mission: to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus through groundbreaking research and to promote hearing health. This made me SO happy and I knew right away that I wanted them to be recipients of my PledgeMusic Campaign for “Fire in the Rainstorm,” and I will also be donating proceeds from the sales from the album.

I am grateful for the folks at HHF and for the hope they provide me and others with hearing loss. I know they will continue their groundbreaking research, but not without the help of you and me. I ask you to join me on the journey to spread awareness, promote hearing health, and contribute to their mission so HHF can continue their quest to prevent and cure hearing loss and other hearing disorders.

Feel the fire! Visit Kori on the web. Her latest album is also available for purchase on iTunes. 

6 Facts Every Woman Should Know About Hearing Health

By Laura Friedman

National Women’s Health Week may only last a week (May 10-16, 2015), but women’s health is a year-round issue. A growing body of research shows an association between hearing loss, quality of life, and a number of common chronic diseases and health conditions.

In the United States today, as many as one-third of women in their 50s have some degree of hearing loss, along with nearly two-thirds of women in their 60s. The findings of a 2008 study also suggest that the prevalence of hearing loss among younger adults, specifically among those in their 20s and 30s, is increasing. Fortunately, for the vast majority of people with hearing loss, hearing aids can help.

For many years, experts have known the positive impact that addressing hearing loss has on quality of life. Research shows that many people with hearing loss who use hearing aids see an improvement in their ability to hear in many settings; and many see an improvement in their relationships at home and at work, in their social lives, and in their ability to communicate effectively in most situations. Many even say they feel better about themselves.

In honor of National Women’s Health Week, we are sharing 6 Facts Every Woman Should Know About Hearing Health from The Better Hearing Institute:

1. Women with hearing loss are more likely to be depressed. Research shows that hearing loss is associated with depression among U.S. adults, but particularly among women.
   

2. The ear may be a window to the heart. Cardiovascular and hearing health are linked. Some experts say the inner ear is so sensitive to blood flow that it’s possible that abnormalities in the cardiovascular system could be noted here earlier than in other less sensitive parts of the body. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, according to the American Heart Association.
   

3. If you have diabetes, you’re about twice as likely to have hearing loss. What’s more, having diabetes may cause women to experience a greater degree of hearing loss as they age, especially if the diabetes is not well controlled with medication. About 11% of women in the United States are affected by diabetes.
   

4. Many of the same lifestyle behaviors that affect the heart impact hearing. More evidence of the interconnectedness between cardiovascular and hearing health is found in three studies on modifiable behaviors: One found that a higher level of physical activity is associated with lower risk of hearing loss in women. Another revealed that smokers and passive smokers are more likely to suffer hearing loss. And a third found that regular fish consumption and higher intake of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are associated with lower risk of hearing loss in women.
   

5. Hearing loss in women is tied to common pain relievers. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are associated with an increased risk of hearing loss in women. The link is even stronger among those younger than 50.
   

6. Addressing hearing loss may benefit cognitive function. Research shows a link between hearing loss and dementia, which leads experts to believe that interventions, like hearing aids, could potentially delay or prevent dementia. Research is ongoing.

HI and HHF are encouraging women of all ages to take a free, quick, and confidential online hearing check at BetterHearing.org to help determine if they need a comprehensive hearing test by a hearing healthcare professional.

The content for this blog post originated in a press release issued by The Better Hearing Institute on May 8, 2015. 

What Animals Can Tell Us About Humans

By Yishane Lee

Recent findings in mice by University at Buffalo scientists may one day help us better understand human hearing loss. Mice have an inner ear structure and auditory system organization similar to humans, and they also progressively lose their hearing as they age. As published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America in October 2014, the researchers found that mice process and understand their “ultrasonic vocalizations” (USVs), which the human ear cannot perceive, in the same way humans make sense of our own vocalizations.

Like humans (and birds), it appears that mice can distinguish a vocalization when just the beginning part is heard, versus when the end part is heard. This helps strengthen the usefulness of mice as good models for understanding human communication and hearing loss.

Dogs also have a language comprehension ability similar to humans. According to recent British study, dogs process speech in a similar way to humans: They listen to our words, not just our intonation.

According to the report, published in the journal Current Biology in November, dogs use different parts of the brain—both the left and right hemispheres—to process the verbal components of a familiar sentence and the emotion or intonation of the speaker. The study suggests that dogs pay attention to the verbal content of human speech and perceive it in a way that broadly parallels human perception. The reseachers concluded, “Dogs may share ancestral or convergent hemispheric specializations for processing the different functional communicative components of speech with human listeners.”

Learn about the amazing chick discovery and HHF’s path to curing hearing loss and tinnitus.

What Does It Mean To Be 4-Star Charity?

By Sloan Blanton

The nonprofit sector is growing, with more and more organizations and foundations emerging daily. However, they are not all managed or held to the same standard. Because of this, donors want to be ensured their philanthropic dollars are being utilized and allocated properly. They are requesting higher accountability and transparency from the organizations they support.

Such donors look for third-party accreditation that their dollars are being maximized. Charity Navigator is America's most-utilized independent evaluator of charities in the competitive philanthropic marketplace, championing efficient, successful, open and ethical charities. By celebrating top charities, Charity Navigator provides the public with useful information needed to provide donors with confidence in their charitable choices.

Charity Navigator has rated Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) with 4 out of 4 stars, the highest possible rating. This indicates that HHF adheres to sound governance, accountability, transparency, and fiscal management, minimizing the organization’s chance of engaging in fiscally irresponsible activities. This rating from Charity Navigator also illustrates how HHF pursues its mission to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus while promoting hearing health in a financially responsible way.

Hearing Health Foundation’s 4-star rating from Charity Navigator differentiates HHF from its peers, and assures the public it is worthy of their trust. "Donors have a choice as to where they invest their philanthropic dollars. We strive to make the greatest impact with every contribution to HHF and are honored to be recognized for our efforts by Charity Navigator, America's premier charity evaluator," said Claire Schultz, HHF’s chief executive officer.

Forbes, Business Week, and Kiplinger's Financial Magazine, among others, applaud Charity Navigator's unique method of applying data-driven analysis to the nonprofit sector. As the leading charity evaluator in the United States, it draws more website traffic than all other charity rating organizations combined.

More than 80 cents of every dollar donated to HHF directly benefits its research efforts towards a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Please consider making a gift today. Imagine the day when HHF finds a cure... you'll be able to say you helped made it possible!

HHF reports to the Internal Revenue Service using form 990 under the tax identification number of 13-1882107. HHF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. All donations to HHF are tax-deductible. 

Rhythm, Noise and Nature

By Jessica Greenwood

When you think about pollution, what comes to mind? Most of us imagine major oil spills, smoke pushing out from factory chimneys, piles of cars idling in morning traffic, pesticides spraying over our crops or plastic bags floating through air and water, only to find their way to our oceans. All of these images are accurate and deserve our attention. However, more notice should be directed towards another pollutant that disturbs the very rhythm of life: NOISE.   

All of our systems, from the small to large, work under the influence of rhythm. Rhythm is the arrangement of sound as it moves through time. Airplanes, electronics, traffic, construction, sirens, trains, poor building acoustics and many more sources of noise, sometimes at excessive levels, contribute to drowning out life’s natural rhythm.

As a society, we have become accustomed to a world with a constant buzz and general loudness, but at what cost? There are the more obvious issues, such as hearing damage (i.e. hearing loss, tinnitus, Meniere’s, and hyperacusis), which can be instantaneous and permanent, but that is only the tip if the iceberg. Noise pollution and hearing loss can cause many psychological issues such as stress, fatigue, insomnia and depression, to name a few.

It’s important to remember that humans are not the only creatures who are disrupted by all this noise; wildlife has been profoundly affected by the constant humming of this planet. Animals rely heavily on the ability to hear for survival; to hunt, mate and flee danger requires sensitivity to sound, sound that is becoming harder for wildlife to distinguish. Even in the deepest ocean waters the impact noise pollution is having on aquatic life is the source of many news articles.

So what can you do about all of this noise and drama created around our sensitive ears? There are several solutions to this problem, but the first step is simply becoming aware of the sounds surrounding us and educating ourselves about safe listening levels.

April 29th, 2015 is International Noise Awareness Day (INAD). In celebration, HHF and Puro Sound Labs, a Hearing Health Partner that shares HHF’s vision for a world where people can enjoy life without hearing loss and tinnitus, are joining forces. We are asking YOU to document any noisy part of your day by taking a short video or audio recording. It can be of anything, such as riding a subway car, sirens passing by, excessively loud restaurants or concerts, or the waves crashing onto to the beach, among other noises encountered on a regular, everyday basis. The only supplies you need are your ears and cell phone or camera to capture sounds and noises you experience. Once captured, please share it with us on Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtag #HearTheNoise.

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/HearingHealthFoundation

https://www.facebook.com/purosound?fref=ts

Twitter:

@HearingHealthFn

@PuroSoundLabs

As an organization dedicated to cure hearing loss and tinnitus, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) understands the importance of prevention and awareness, which is why we recently added “promoting hearing health” to our mission. While HHF has an incredible and committed following, HHF cannot spread the word alone, and enlists the help of its corporate partners to help.

One such company is Puro Sound Labs, a small start-up that created headphones with volume limits at 85dB, the maximum sound level for safe listening. Volumes exceeding 85dB can cause irreversible damage, such as Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). NIHL is a growing epidemic, with the numbers of people affected by hearing loss expanding, rapidly, especially among our youth. Personal listening devices and earbuds are likely the greatest contributor to this epidemic producing volumes well over a safe level, often exceeding 110dB, at which damaged can be sustained in a matter of minutes.

While Puro Sound Labs is company that has dedicated itself to providing great sound without the need of excessive volume, they wanted to take their commitment to hearing health and prevention to the next level: the company is contributing a portion of each pair of BT2200 headphones sold, to HHF’s mission of finding a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.  

Together Puro Sound Labs and HHF are Partners with a Purpose.

Visual Learning, Visual Teaching

By Caleb De Vries

My hearing loss is moderate; I hear highs and lows well but it is the middle of the spectrum where most human voices fall where I have trouble. Conversations can be very difficult, especially in noisy environments.

I first received hearing aids when I was 15 but was teased for wearing them; I felt different and somehow less than my peers. As a result I didn’t wear them for many years and struggled to find ways to cope without them.

Caleb De Vries

This provided a challenge for me academically. I hid in the classroom, avoided answering questions, and as a defense mechanism I acted aloof. The gym was the one place where I really felt at home. I excelled in ice hockey, track, volleyball, and basketball. 

I spent hours by myself every day after school mastering ball handling and shooting skills for basketball, and stick handling, inline skating, and shooting skills for hockey. I was very passionate about learning new and creative ways to teach myself how to improve. This passion led me to coach a variety of sports and to pursue bachelor degrees in education and physical education.

I wore hearing aids during university classes but they did not help much, as they were not working well and were too old to fix. I couldn’t afford to buy new hearing aids because they are extremely expensive, but about two years ago my sister Nadine [who works for HHF] paid for my new hearing aids—and they have changed my life.  

Now when I teach and play sports it is very different; voices are much easier to hear and I do not have to spend as much energy trying to hear my teammates or students. When playing sports, I wear a headband to protect my hearing aids and to prevent them from falling out.

I am the program coordinator for Fit Kids Healthy Kids in Winnipeg, Canada. This is run by a nonprofit organization, Sport Manitoba, whose goal is to encourage as many kids to be active as we can. We aim to provide opportunities for children to develop the confidence and competence to participate in any activity and to ultimately become active for life.

Many of the families I work with are recent immigrants whose first language is not English. My hearing loss is beneficial in this situation because it has led me to be a very visual and physical teacher. As a child I had learned by watching my favorite athletes and studying their movements, not by hearing them explain how they execute a skill.

I do not know whether I excelled in sports because of—or despite—having a hearing loss. I had to try harder to hear my coaches and teammates but it also caused me to have a high level of attention to detail, helping me develop my teaching style. When teaching I take every opportunity to give visual cues and demonstrations. In some ways this type of instruction can level the playing field for those who have trouble understanding verbal communication, whether because of hearing loss or because it is a foreign language.

My perceived disability has given me the ability to become more empathetic toward the kids who struggle with poor self-esteem and a fear of failure. When I was young I believed that I wasn’t good at math or science. The truth is I never knew how good I could be at these subjects because I was too afraid to fail.

It is the same fear that I see in kids who believe they are not athletic. Most often they are just too afraid to try because trying presents the possibility of failure. Helping a child overcome this fear is the most rewarding part of my job; it is such an incredible sense of accomplishment to know that I play a small role in this crucial step toward their development.

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Do Airplanes Trigger Tinnitus?

By Shari Eberts

I am lucky enough to have mostly mild tinnitus. Sometimes I have flare-ups and lately I have been experiencing a day of tinnitus after any air travel. This is a problem for me since I love to travel, and most of the places I like to travel to require an airplane ride. So what’s a weary hard-of-hearing traveler to do? It became clear to me that proper ear protection on the airplane is key.

My post-airplane tinnitus flare-ups have been occurring for the last several months and are usually accompanied by a reduced ability to hear. Even for someone with typical-hearing, it can be a challenge getting off the plane at a new destination, navigating the baggage claim, the rental car agency, and perhaps customs, all with two children in tow. But with a tinnitus flare-up and reduced hearing, it is even more challenging.

For me, I believe the issue is the sustained level of noise on the airplane; according to my iPhone decibel reader app, the interior of a plane is very loud—anywhere from 80 to 95 decibels, depending on the flight. Once in the air, the sound is like white noise and is easy to forget about or ignore, but it is constant, and can be damaging to our hearing. The rule of thumb is that prolonged exposure to any noise at or above 85 decibels can cause gradual hearing loss—and that damage can be permanent.

Here are some workarounds that I have found; I hope they work for you as they do for me:

1. When I get on the plane I shut my hearing aids off, so they act as earplugs. This can be a challenge if I need to communicate during the flight because almost all sound is blocked, preventing me from hearing. While sometimes I must turn them on, I try to keep my aids off for the entire flight, from prior to takeoff until we have reached the gate.
   

2. I try to reserve a seat on the aisle and as far away from the engines as possible. Sometimes this is not possible without paying extra for a special seat, but when possible, I do so.
   

3. I wear a hooded sweatshirt or jacket on the plane for an additional barrier to the noise. It helps prevent the tinnitus and the effect of reduced hearing.

These activities have helped a little bit, but have not fully eliminated the issue. I am still searching for solutions until there is a cure. Please share your tips with us in the comment box below.

This post originally appeared on the blog Living With Hearing Loss on March 25, 2015. The author, Shari Eberts, is the chair of HHF's Board of Directors.

A Neurological Emergency

By Jane Madell, Au.D.

Hearing loss is the most common disability in children worldwide. Annually in America approximately 3 in 1,000 babies are born with permanent hearing loss, making hearing loss one of the most common birth defects in the U.S. Hearing loss cannot be viewed in isolation; it can cause problems for auditory brain development. When a child with hearing loss is born, the child has already had 20 weeks of auditory deprivation.

Typical*-hearing babies
When babies with typical-hearing are born, they have been listening to their mother’s voice and the voices of others near their mother. They can tell the difference between their mother’s voice and their father’s voice. They recognize inflection; they can tell which words are important and separate them from words that are used to connect the important words. They recognize emotion in voices, and music they heard during pregnancy. Although the sounds they hear are softer and a little muffled compared with those heard outside the womb, they provide significant input to the auditory brain.

Babies with hearing loss
Babies with hearing loss are born with brain deprivation, which is why it is important to act quickly to reduce the effect of this delay. The critical thing to remember is that there is a short window for developing the auditory brain. If children do not get the opportunity to hear during the first 3 to 3 ½ years, they will lose that opportunity. We are not just talking about developing language (which is certainly critical), but also about literacy. Reading is in the same part of the brain as hearing, so if we want children to succeed, we need to build the auditory brain early.

Typical-hearing babies who are not exposed to language
Lack of exposure to auditory stimulation affects everyone’s brain. Typical-hearing children who live in homes where their parents do not talk with them will also show a lack of auditory brain development. Hart and Risley (1995) have demonstrated that the number of words heard directly affects both the number of words in a child’s vocabulary and the child’s IQ at age 3 years. Children who heard ~30,100 words in a 14-hour day had a vocabulary of ~1,100 words and an IQ of 117 at age three years, while children who heard ~8,600 words in a day had a vocabulary of 525 words and an IQ of 79.

So what should we be doing?

Every child needs good exposure to language. While professionals have a role, the most important people in providing language stimulation to children are their parents. Everyone who works with children needs to help parents understand that EVERY child needs a lot of auditory input. Parents need to be encouraged to talk, read, and sing to their children. Ten books a day should be the goal. We need to help parents learn how to talk to their children, and, most importantly, how to enjoy talking to their children. All children with limited language — not just those with hearing loss — have reduced economic possibilities.

Empowering parents
Ears are the pathway to the brain; the brain is the organ of hearing. Just as parents are the people who need to feed their children and keep them warm, parents are also the people who have to give children power to use their brain. It is essential that parents are properly educated about their child's hearing loss and the role they play in their child's auditory development. If children can learn to listen and talk, they will be able to:

• Talk to people around them and learn from them

• Hear and learn great ideas

• Read well and learn about the world

• Receive a good education

• Have life choices

The ability to get a good education and to increase life choices has the added advantage of reducing poverty, as well as the possibility of making major changes in a child’s life.

Take action today to protect your children's ears against the dangers of noise and consider donating today to help us find a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

This post originally appeared on Hearing Health @ Hearing Health & Technology Matters’ blog on February 10, 2015. The author, Jane Madell, Au.D., is an audiologist, speech-language pathologist, and auditory verbal therapist with 40-plus years of experience in the greater New York City area.  

*Typical Hearing was use in place of Normal Hearing. 

Make Sure You Hear That

By Kathi Mestayer

With another holiday season right around the corner, participating in conversations around the dinner table and social gatherings can be a real challenge for those with hearing loss. It can lead to feelings of frustration, especially if there is a family member who has an unacknowledged—and untreated—hearing loss.

Undiagnosed, untreated hearing loss has been shown to detrimentally affect personal relationships, as the Better Hearing Institute reports: “Research demonstrates the considerable negative social, psychological, cognitive, and health effects of untreated hearing loss with far-reaching implications that go well beyond hearing alone. In fact, those who have difficulty hearing can experience such distorted and incomplete communication that it seriously impacts their professional and personal lives, at times leading to isolation and withdrawal.”

Here are some tips to help you hear your best:

• Sit at the end of the dinner table so you can see everyone’s faces. The ambient noise from a crowded table can be a tough listening situation, so seeing people when they are speaking will help.

• Try to avoid sitting or standing next to fans, vents, or anything else that may be adding an extra layer of background noise.

• Adjust the programming on your hearing aid or other listening device to accommodate a noisy environment.

• Consider using an FM system or other assistive listening device to help you hear.

Before she became a staff writer for Hearing Health, Kathi Mestayer’s first article for the magazine in Summer 2011 spoke about the challenges of communicating well with family members. Her “tacit norms” include this list of informal rules in her family:

• Outdoors is better. A screened porch or the back yard is a much quieter and easier place to converse than a noisy house.
  

• One speaker at a time. Really.
  

• Be patient. We’re all trying our best, even the kids.
  

• Take a break. Struggling to make sense out of the incomplete sound data we get is exhausting. A nap or some quiet time is the best way to recharge your brain.

We hope that these tips are helpful to you in hearing that “thank you” from your loved ones.  

Show your thanks by making a gift to honor or in memory of a loved one and help HHF find a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus through our Hearing Restoration Project. We are ever thankful for your support!

Staff writer Kathi Mestayer serves on advisory boards for the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Greater Richmond, Virginia, chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America. This is adapted from her reader-sponsored work, “Be Hear Now.”