My Hearing Loss Journey

By Meghan Bayer

August 12th, 1996, I came screaming into the world. I had all my fingers and toes and my parents could not have been more proud of their “perfect” baby girl. I was (and still am) blessed by having two very loving parents,  and just over two years after my parents had me, they gave me the extraordinary gift of being a big sister.

Meghan (on right) with her dad and brother

As I went through my toddler years, I hit all my developmental milestones. Around the age of three 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 28th, 2000, at the age of four, I was diagnosed with bilateral moderate-severe sensorineural hearing loss and immediately fitted with hearing aids. My dad and brother also have congenital hearing loss and wear hearing aids.

When I was first diagnosed, my parents’ worlds’ were shattered. My dad continued to be in denial and all my mom could do was hold me and cry. I think they felt I would somehow be limited in by abilities. As a way to recover and accept the diagnosis, we started taking family sign language classes which we all enjoyed.

My whole education, I have been mainstreamed in a private school. I had a very typical childhood; my mom drove me to soccer, dance, gymnastics… you name a sport and I have probably at least tried it. My days were filled with homework, playing outside, and evening swimming lessons. I was a well-behaved student that had earned the respect of all of the teachers, faculty, and staff. I maintained straight-A’s and regularly made the honor roll. At school, I had a hearing support teacher come in for a half hour twice a week during school hours to troubleshoot my equipment, review math skills, and occasionally play fun games.

In 5th grade, my family moved two hours away for my parents’ jobs. I didn’t know anyone and I was very shy. If someone asked me about “those things on my ears” I would stare at the floor silently.

Everything was different. I had a locker now, a bunch of teachers that didn’t fully understand my needs, and a new hearing support teacher. I lived in a new city and making friends seemed like an impossible task. I had to deal with my first real bully who would he call me names and physically abuse me.  When I defended myself from getting hit by a hockey stick, I got detention.

Through the years, my hearing became progressively worse until I was profoundly deaf in my left ear and so I was implanted with bilateral cochlear implants during the summer of 2010.  With intense therapy, I successfully learned to hear. I was constantly amazed at my new hearing world. With the increased ability to hear, my academic success improved dramatically and my confidence soared. I received my second implant just days before starting my freshman year of high school.

In order to fulfill my school’s foreign language requirement, they offered to let me take ASL. I politely declined and stated that I would be taking French. I was at or near the top of my class all four years of French. My sophomore year, I was given the French II Award for the highest academic average in my class. This goes to show that if you work hard, anything can happen!

Hanging out with friends, homework, community service and year-round basketball ruled my life. I was inducted into the National Honor Society, served as the president of the school’s service club, and enjoyed helping out with school events. By my senior year, I had over 800 service hours and I was awarded my high school’s highest honor for my scholarship, character, and service. I graduated with highest honors, a varsity basketball letterman, and as a member of the National Honor Society.

Today, I can confidently tell you that hearing loss will never be an excuse for me or any of my family members. My present goal is to earn my degree in Communication Rhetoric, minor in the Administration of Justice, and obtain a certificate in National Preparedness and Emergency Management. It sounds like a lot, but I’ll get it done because there are no excuses!  While I am by no means fluent, I do attend our ASL club on campus and continue taking classes.

Looking back on the journey, I am thankful that my speech was completely unaffected by my severe inability to hear during the prelingual period. I am grateful to my parents and I would not be where I am today without the help of each and every single person on my journey.

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Take the National Hearing Test This Month - for Free!

By Charles S. Watson, Ph.D.

All this month, Duracell is sponsoring the National Hearing Test (NHT), in honor of May as Better Hearing and Speech Month. John Slattery of “Mad Men” is a spokesperson for the campaign and stars in a new Duracell commercial to raise awareness about hearing loss and the benefits of hearing aids.

The test can be taken without charge for the rest of the month, by dialing 1-844-9-DURACELL (1-844-938-7223).

The NHT is a U.S. version of the telephone-administered tests first introduced in the Netherlands in 2004 and now in use in most European countries and Australia. It measures the signal-to-noise-ratio required to identify spoken three-digit sequences in noise. Its validity was established by comparisons with pure-tone average thresholds used in traditional audiograms.

The not-for-profit screening requires about four minutes for each ear and the results are given at the end of the test as “within normal limits,” “slightly below normal limits,” or “substantially below normal limits.” Callers that fall below "normal limits" are advised to see an audiologist or a physician specializing in hearing for a complete evaluation. All callers with concerns about their hearing are similarly advised.

The test, usually $5, was offered for free during Better Hearing and Speech Month in May 2014, when it was publicized in health/science articles in several newspapers, including the Washington Post, St. Louis Post Dispatch, and the Indianapolis Star, estimated to reach 2 to 5 percent of the American population.

The 2014 data shows how we may expect the test to work this year: Over 40,000 calls were made to the test, the majority of which (32,000) were complete tests of both ears. Among the completed tests, 81 percent failed the test in at least one ear; their average age was 62.4 years, suggesting that the target audience was reached.  
Follow-up studies revealed that about 38 percent of those failing the test subsequently sought a full hearing evaluation, or planned to do so in the future.  Of those advised to purchase hearing aids after the full-hearing evaluation, 28 percent said they had done so or intended to. 

Recent studies of decision-making in relation to other health problems as well as hearing loss suggest that decision-making is a multistage process that may require many months or even years to lead to action.

So, while failing a screening test may not always lead to immediate self-referral and the purchase of hearing aids, it may significantly reduce the delay in so doing from the typical 8 to 10 years from hearing loss diagnosis to purchase of hearing aids to perhaps as few as 1 to 3 years.

The remarkable response to the NHT when it was offered as a simple, private transaction shows there to be a great many persons with hearing loss who would take a valid, convenient, and private screening test if one were available. We are hopeful that the current month’s well-publicized availability of such screening tests will effect a major change in the public’s understanding of hearing loss and actions to treat it.

Charles S. Watson, Ph.D., is a professor of speech and hearing sciences at Indiana University and co-founder of Communication Disorders Technology Inc., which developed the National Hearing Test in collaboration with Indiana University, and the VU University Medical Center of Amsterdam, with the support of grants from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

References

• Donahue, A., Dubno, J. R., and Beck, L. (2010) Accessible and affordable hearing health care for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. Ear and Hear, 31, 2–6.

• Laplante-Lévesque, A., Brännström, J., Ingo, E., Andersson, G., and Lunner, T. (2015) Stages of Change in Adults Who Have Failed an Online Hearing Screening, Ear and Hear 36, 92-101.

• Smits C., Kapteyn T.S., Houtgast T. (2004) Development and validation of an automatic speech-in-noise screening test by telephone. Int J Audiol 43(1), 15–28.

• Watson, C. S., Kidd, G. R., Miller, J. D., et al. (2012). Telephone screening tests for functionally impaired hearing: Current use in seven countries and development of a US version. J Am Acad Audiol, 23, 757–767.

• Williams-Sanchez, V., McArdle, R.A., Wilson, R.H., Kidd, G.R., Watson, C.S., Bourne, A.L. (2014) Validation of a Screening Test of Auditory Function Using the Telephone. J Am Acad Audiol, 18, 151-183.

Sounds like Meniere's Disease

By Haley Walker

Haley getting hearing aid mold impressions

“Looks like you have Ménière’s disease,” my doctor said. My heart skipped a beat. What does that mean? What on earth is that? Over the next couple of months I had various hearing tests done, and met with an ear, nose, and throat doctor. It was a lot to take in.

At first I was just glad to have an answer to my problems. A name, a label, an explanation—and to know I am not going crazy. But after that I began to feel worried. Ultimately my diagnosis meant progressive hearing loss; not only did I need hearing aids for moderate hearing loss, my hearing could get worse.

Ménière’s also means I have to follow a low-salt diet. I can’t eat more than 1.5 grams a day of sodium. That’s about a third of a teaspoon. No fast food, no processed food, no added salt.

Ménière’s disease is a disorder that causes abnormal fluid retention in the inner ear, leading to balance problems, hearing loss, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Typically, it only affects one ear but lucky me—I have it in both. My doctor was very surprised and said it's quite rare, but as I researched the condition I found a lot of people have it in both ears. That made me feel a bit better.

The truth is it took over a year to finally get this diagnosis of Ménière’s. If I really think about it, I started having disabling dizzy spells that caused vomiting and nausea when I was in high school, at age 16 or 17. (I am 20 now.) My family and I wrote them off as anxiety attacks and dealt with them as they came.

I remember trying to walk home up a hill behind the school one day and literally falling on my face because I couldn’t walk straight. Mmmmm dirt… yummy. I stumbled home and laid down on the floor in our living room crying. I couldn’t get a grip on myself. What is happening to me? Anxiety definitely played a part, but I now know there was a more pieces to the puzzle.

I am now treating Ménière’s by following my low-sodium diet, wearing my hearing aids, and taking a diuretic—a medication that helps to control the abnormal fluid retention in my ears. (This is why limiting salt also helps—salt makes you retain water.) It was incredible when I first got my hearing aids. Everything I had been missing I could suddenly hear! I now can enjoy the little things like the birds singing outside my window in the morning. When the tinnitus gets really bad I put on background white noise, like the sound of the ocean or rain falling. And when the dizzy spells hit, I do the only thing I really can, sit or lay down, and close my eyes waiting for it to pass.

Haley and her hearing aid

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with Ménière’s, don’t worry—it's not the end of the world! You learn to cope and manage your flare-ups, and hearing aids are amazing. I cried tears of joy the first time I listened to music after I got them.

The important thing to remember is that you aren’t alone! There are others out there with Ménière’s. Join a group on Facebook or start your own. Talking to others who understand what it's like and what you are going through helps so much. Look at celebrities, like Katie Leclerc, who are dealing with it every day and rocking it.

And lastly, take care of yourself. On bad days, pace yourself and do what you need to do to feel better. Always remember, “This too shall pass.”

IT HAPPENED TO ME: I'm 27 and I Just Got Hearing Aids

By Sarah Klegman

As un-cool as they may be at times, and even though my hearing loss isn’t as bad as most, hearing aids have changed my life.

After an adverse reaction to medication left me with Tinnitus (a constant ringing in your ears, it’s lovely), I was put through a series of hearing tests. I sat in a vault-like room listening for beeps of varying volume. Afterward, they told me that I had high frequency hearing loss, and I’d be a great candidate for hearing aids.

Urm, no, I do not need those.

Big, clunky, ugly pieces of wannabe skin-color machinery, shoved into wax-filled hairy old-man-ears... I don’t need them. It’s just that I have to read lips in loud places and my close friends know to stand on my left side because my right ear is worse than my left and sometimes I miss important things in meetings and on phone calls.

Ooooooh.

I walk into the hearing aid place my insurance company recommended (but doesn’t cover). The audiologist brings me into his office and runs through what feels like his usual spiel. After tapping his fingers on the keyboard for a minute, he hands me a pair of ear buds that are wired to his computer.

“You’ll hear static for a moment before they turn on.”

I put them in, and hear the static like he says. Then the static stops, and suddenly, there are… sounds.

Everywhere. Everything has a sound. It’s like I can see the space around me, but with my ears. I hear the hum of his computer, the sound of his pants on his office chair as he shifts his position to look closer at the screen.

He picks up a piece of paper and I hear it. I hear a piece of paper. It crinkles and as his fingers move across it, I can hear the texture.

My eyes start uncontrollably watering as I realize how much I have to experience and hear. I shuffle my feet on the floor, taking so much joy in hearing the synthetic threads against my shoes. I kick my purse with my foot and hear everything inside move. It's like a drug, and I am greedy for it.

He tells me that I can take them off… but I stall, asking him questions so I can keep them in a bit longer.

“Where are these manufactured? How long have you been an audiologist? Have you ever been to the restaurant next door?”

We go over pricing (average being $4k+) and I leave his office seeking out a second opinion.

I did some Googling and landed on the website of Dr. Stephen Kirsch, an audiologist just up the street. His website said that he and his wife spend time outfitting children in Africa with hearing aids. Um, yes. I like him already. I call and make an appointment.

He welcomes me into his office and I’m feeling anxious, but trying to play it cool, wondering when I’ll get to put hearing aids in my ears again. We start talking about my hearing loss, and then he asks me if I want to try some out. “YES, YES I DO.”

His aren’t wired to a computer like the other guy’s. They’re just regular hearing aids, and they’re TINY. Like, I could accidentally swallow them in a salad and not notice, tiny.

He helps me put them in, and my eyes widen, searching the room for something new to hear.

“They’re not on yet,” he tells me. “Oh,” I sheepishly respond.

Just like the other guy, he tells me I’ll hear static for a minute while he adjusts things. Then, like before, my ears switch on. I light up, and this time, so does the other person in the room. He taps his fingers on his desk; he picks up a piece of paper and shakes it around, indulging my greediness for sound.

He tells me some things to expect. How I’ll get used to hearing my own voice, it might be overwhelming in loud places, and… I’ll be able to accurately represent myself. I hadn’t thought of that last one, and I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but I would come to.

He lets me take a pair to test drive. I get in my car, smiling like an excited dog following new smells and I turn on some music. A Mumford and Sons song comes on and I have what can only be described as an eargasm. The violin. I can hear the violin! I didn’t even know there was a violin in this song!

I have high frequency hearing loss, so the higher pitch the sound, the less I can hear it. Harmonies became richer. I could hear the strings of the guitar. The fibers. Then some less exciting realizations came to me – like how those whispered conversations probably weren’t that quiet, my laugh really is that loud, and those toots may not have been silent.

Oops.

When I was younger, doctors said that I had premature hearing loss, but that sentence was never finished with, “and hearing aids could make a significant improvement on your life.” 

So, my family and friends continued thinking of me as a “bad listener.” Which, I guess, technically, I was -- but being called a bad listener hit me in the heart. To me, they were calling me self-absorbed and disinterested.

I know I’m not perfect, but most of the time I was trying. However, just straining to hear someone can come off as unwelcoming. Your face scrunches up, your eyebrows furrow, and your neck cranes out -- body language that reads negatively. So, after a while, I stopped asking people to repeat themselves as often.

“What? Oh… you already repeated it twice, and if I ask once more, you’ll scream-repeat it at me angrily? Oh, um, yeah, no, I totally heard you.”

I asked Dr. Kirsch if I could pick his brain for this article and he enthusiastically agreed. While chatting, I told him about being called a bad listener. He paused, looked me in the eye and said, “But you’re a great listener.” My heart swelled. 

He continued, “You are a great listener largely because you and others with hearing loss pay such close attention to body language and facial expressions which tell more than the words on their own.”

He told me about a lawyer he worked with. The lawyer worried that if people noticed his hearing aids in the courtroom, it would be perceived as a sign of weakness and inspire doubt. 

Unfortunately, because of all the stigma, a lot of people who could use hearing aids don’t get them. As few as 1 in 5 people who have hearing loss actually do something about it.

My first week with hearing aids, I wore them to a beach house with some friends. They were all very happy for me, but I kept hearing this static. Something must be wrong with the hearing aids, I thought.

“There! Did anyone hear that?!”

Nope.

“That?!”

Nope.

Then my friend Sally goes, “Wait a second. Do you hear it right… now?”

“Yes!”

Another moment passes, “And… now?”

“Yes!!”

“Sarah,” she says, “those are waves. You’re hearing the ocean.”

Later, I had a meeting with this guy. I had my hearing aids turned up so I wouldn’t miss anything, so they were even more susceptible to feedback. I hugged him goodbye, his ear covered mine, and my hearing aid made a high-pitched noise (like when a microphone gets in front of a speaker). The guy pulled back and looked at me weird.

“Oh, could you hear that, too?” I asked.

“Yeah, what was it?”

I said, “I – AM – A – ROBOT,” and did the robot.

I thought it was hilarious.

During our chat, I jokingly ask Dr. Kirsch when I should tell a date that I have hearing aids. He sweetly says that I should tell them around the time we start to really care for each other. That’s great advice. 

More likely, I’ll end up stalling until a moment of natural clumsiness occurs, wherein my hearing aids will either fall out, or start blasting audible feedback. Ta-da! 

As un-cool as they may be at times, and even though my hearing loss isn’t as bad as most, hearing aids have changed my life. I believe that shamelessly showing your vulnerabilities can make you an even more likable person. Living honestly inspires others to live honestly.

That’s what Dr. Kirsch meant about being your authentic self. “You can't fully communicate who you are when you can't hear what people are saying to you. People won't listen if they feel like they aren't being heard.”

You strain to hear someone speak, you miss important words -- and as entertaining your shriek may be at the time -- you’re startled when you didn’t hear a friend walk in the room. You’re always on edge.

I hope this reaches people with hearing loss (I’m looking at you, dear friend in denial) and helps them in getting over the stigma and their hang-ups about looking old or handicapped; getting hearing aids can significantly improve your quality of life and how you communicate with the world. It also makes life a bit easier on your family and friends, too. 

Now, when I forget “my ears,” my friends notice. I’ll ask “What?” and they’ll say with a loving/scolding tone, “Are your ears in?”

Originally published on xoJane and republished here with their permission.

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How To Clean Your Ears Without Damaging Them So Your Hearing Stays Intact

By Lindsey Rose Black

Unlike washing your face or hair everyday, ears can be easy to forget about until they’re pretty waxy. If you’re officially at a point where your ears require a serious deep clean, read on for how to clean your ears without damaging them because it can be tricky! There’s no reason to worry, but you do want to be careful.

First and foremost, if you are still using cotton swabs to clean your ears, back away right now. The American Academy of Otolaryngology (ears, nose, and throat), released a statement that said, "Wax blockage is one of the most common causes of hearing loss. This is often caused by attempts to clean the ear with cotton swabs. Most cleaning attempts merely push the wax deeper into the ear canal, causing a blockage." Yeah that's right, cotton swabs could actually cause hearing loss. No freaking thank you!

As for how often to clean, Douglas Backous, M.D. told Huffington Post, "Ears really only need to be cleaned ... if they feel full or you notice changes to your hearing that could be related to waxy buildup." If these symptoms sound familiar, below are two of the safest and easiest ways to clean your ears at home. Of course, if things become painful, definitely go ahead and seek out a professional doctor.

1. Wash Cloth Rub

   As shared in PopSugar, you can safely clean your outer ear by simply wetting a wash cloth with water (no soap!) and then gently rubbing around your ear. Don't try to reach in too far, though.

2. Hydrogen PeroxideAnd Water Rinse

   Another safe and effective method is mixing together equal parts water and hydrogen peroxide, and using a rubber bulb syringe (yes, like a turkey baster) to pour a bit of the mixture into your ear. Wait a few seconds, then flip your head over for the excess liquid to drain out.

3. Rubbing Alcohol And White Vinegar
   
   If you don't have hydrogen peroxide on hand, you can also safely mix rubbing alcohol and white vinegar together and follow the above instructions.

 Originally published on Bustle and republished here with their permission. Images: Abigail Keenan/Unsplash; Courtesy of Brands

Support HHF This Mother's Day

By Heather Friedman

Laura (second from left) with her sister in-law Liza, her maternal Grandmother and Aunt, with Heather on the far right.

For three and a half years my daughter, Laura, attempted to hear and to be understood. As her mother, I struggled to make sense of her difficulties—which I knew in my heart did not stem from developmental or attention deficit disorders.

Prior to her diagnoses at three and a half, Laura had a very difficult time communicating. I took her to specialists and started her on speech therapy, with little result. When Laura was finally diagnosed and fitted with hearing aids, things began to fall into place.

When Laura finally received the correct diagnosis—hearing loss—I was relieved. Parents and children should not have to wait over three years to have this condition detected, struggling all the while with delays hampering social and emotional growth. Parents should not have to go through the pain of knowing something is holding their baby back, when it could be so easily detected.

In 1993, four years after Laura was born, Hearing Health Foundation’s steadfast advocacy work led to the passing of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Legislation. As a result—today, 97% of American babies are tested for hearing loss at birth. This means newborns with hearing loss can immediately get the help they need through technology such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, as well as speech and language therapy. This means an easier life, from birth, for children with hearing loss.

Today, I am proud to say that Laura is a happy and successful adult. In fact, she is such a staunch champion for people with hearing loss that when a job became available at Hearing Health Foundation, she jumped at the chance to work there! As Hearing Health Foundation’s Communications and Programs Manager, Laura works hard to advocate for those with hearing loss, to prevent hearing loss, and most importantly to raise funds to research for a cure.

It is my hope that she can one day benefit from her tireless efforts. Your support can make my dream for her, and other people living with hearing loss, a reality. A gift to this amazing organization is a gift to all people with hearing loss, as well as to their families!

This Mother's Day, Hearing Health Foundation would like to shine a light on all Mothers for all they do for their children and families.

Please consider giving a gift in Honor or in Memory of a wonderful Mother you know. Your gift will be used to fund groundbreaking research to prevent and cure Hearing Loss and Tinnitus and to promote hearing health.

Walk, Block, and Turn!

By Maggie Niu

April 27 is International Noise Awareness Day (INAD), a day dedicated to encouraging people to “do something about bothersome noise where they work, live, and play.”

Every day in our environment we experience sound, whether it’s pleasant, like music, or bothersome, like sirens. Unpleasant or unwanted noisy environments can be dreadful; not only can noise increase our stress level and inhibit us from carrying out daily tasks, but also in the long run overexposure to noise can damage our hearing. This is known as noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). All too often, we become immune to the constant hum of traffic (about 85 decibels, or dB) and noisy subway stations (95 dB). The Safe and Sound safe listening levels chart, on the left, details the effects of various decibel levels on our ears.

There are two causes of NIHL. One is impulse noise, a one-time exposure to a loud sound such as an explosion. This can cause temporary and/or permanent hearing loss. The other cause of NIHL is continuous exposure to loud noise. This type of hearing loss happens gradually over time.

NIHL affects our inner-ear hair cells (the cells that help us hear) as well as the auditory or hearing nerve. Not only can this type of hearing loss be permanent, it can also lead to tinnitus. Tinnitus is hearing a constant ringing, buzzing, or roaring without an external sound source. It can be in one or both ears and often occurs with hearing loss.

Now the question is: How do we protect ourselves from NIHL? It can be as easy as remembering to Walk, Block, and Turn! Walk away from loud sounds. Block noise by wearing earplugs or other hearing protective devices. Turn the volume down on stereos and personal music devices. If you work in a noisy environment, take proper measures to protect your ears by wearing ear plugs or ear muffs. Being able to hear is important for daily interactions and often taken for granted until it's too late.

To learn more about Hearing Health Foundation's Safe and Sound program, please email development@hhf.org.

Hearing Aid Use Is Associated with Improved Cognitive Function in Hearing-Impaired Elderly

By Columbia University Medical Center

A study conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) found that older adults who used a hearing aid performed significantly better on cognitive tests than those who did not use a hearing aid, despite having poorer hearing.

The study was published online in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

The researchers also found that cognitive function was directly related to hearing ability in participants who did not use a hearing aid.

More than half of adults over age 75 have hearing loss, yet less than 15 percent of the hearing impaired use a hearing aid device. Previous studies have shown that the hearing-impaired elderly have a higher incidence of fall- and accident-related death, social isolation, and dementia than those without hearing loss. Studies have also demonstrated that hearing aid use can improve the social, functional, and emotional consequences of hearing loss.

“We know that hearing aids can keep older adults with hearing loss more socially engaged by providing an important bridge to the outside world,” said Anil K. Lalwani, MD, professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at Columbia and otolaryngologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/CUMC and NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. “In this study, we wanted to determine if they could also slow the effects of aging on cognitive function.”

The study included 100 adults with hearing loss between the ages of 80 and 99. Of the participants, 34 regularly used a hearing aid. Audiometry tests were performed to measure the degree of hearing loss. Cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), in which participants give vocal responses to verbal commands. Executive function was also assessed with the Trail Making Test, Part B (TMT-B), which does not have a verbal or auditory component.

Hearing aid users, who had worse hearing than non-users, performed significantly (1.9 points) better on the MMSE. Among non-users, participants with more hearing loss also had lower MMSE scores than those with better hearing. Although hearing aid users performed better than non-users on the TMT-B, the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, TMT-B scores were not correlated with hearing level.

“Our study suggests that using a hearing aid may offer a simple, yet important, way to prevent or slow the development of dementia by keeping adults with hearing loss engaged in conversation and communication,” said Dr. Lalwani.

This blog was reposted with the permission of Columbia University Medical Center. 

Anil K. Lalwani, M.D. is the Head of Hearing Health Foundation's Council of Scientific Trustees and sits on our Board of Directors. 

We need your help in funding the exciting work of hearing and balance scientists.

To donate today to support HHF's groundbreaking research,

please visit hhf.org/donate.

Wayne Lewis Lesser, Wayne's World, Wayne's Words

By Wayne Lesser

In 1944, I was born to loving parents. I came into a world of what I call “lesser” sound—I was born hearing-impaired. As a kid, I did not know or did not pay attention to my lesser sound. While I did have regular hearing exams, my parents never indicated to me that I might have hearing loss. In truth, my parents were unaware of my hearing loss throughout my childhood.

My kid sister followed in 1945 and was profoundly hearing-impaired. For years, my family was not aware of her hearing loss, or its severity. At that point, my family still did not know about my hearing loss, either. My mom took my sister from doctor to doctor until one said that she was hearing-impaired and needed hearing aids. She was fitted with aids at age 11.

Wayne Lesser

My sister’s hearing aid was ugly and scary. I remember when she put it on for the first time: a one-piece unit, the size of a deck of cards, with two wires connecting the large earbuds into her little ears. My mom turned it on. At that moment, I was fooling around with the bathroom faucet, turning the water on and off. My sister turned in my direction as, for the first time, she heard the sound of running water—and smiled. It was an unbelievable and memorable experience. I still get chills remembering the event as if it were yesterday. We were the only members of our entire family to be similarly afflicted. 

 In sports and life, I tried to listen and hear the best I could, positioning myself to look at people's faces—even learning to lip-read by myself, so that I could understand and try to get by. Growing up, I was proud to be an all-star Little League kid, a county all-star in high school basketball, and a basketball athlete at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. I graduated with a B.A. in history in 1966, and then was accepted into George Washington University Law School. 

Law school was tougher for me as I struggled to hear. I remember many times saying I was not prepared when called on by the professors, as I could not follow the questions and discussions in large lecture classes. I was embarrassed to tell them of my hearing loss. But I made it despite all the roadblocks. I graduated in 1969, took and passed the Commonwealth of Virginia Bar Exam, and was admitted to the bars of both Virginia and the District of Columbia.    

The summer of that same year I visited San Francisco, saw the changing world, and wanted to be a part of it, including the chance to now listen to the music of the times. One of the trends in men’s fashion was wearing the hair long, so long that it covered the ears.   

In March 1970, I moved to Berkeley. I got a job selling women's clothes and met my future wife at the store. We got married in 1971 (we’re still together), and I got my first set of hearing aids. Egads, I thought. Sound—nice! Why did I wait so long to get help? Because before that I did not have the convenience of concealing them with longer hair. Yes, I suppose that as a young man I was sensitive about hearings aids, even if I did need them. But I continued to wear them and still do today. I am sure that over time there has been a gradual decline in my hearing health, but I am as “fine” as I can be with the hearing aids.

I opened my first law office in 1971, practicing law in all types of cases and causes, but primarily in civil litigation and consumer rights. I have mainly been a solo practitioner for nearly five decades. 

About five years ago, I began to ask questions about hearing aids, hearing impairment, and hearing risks, which led me to create the Sound Awareness Movement: a movement to provide information, advocacy, and product protection to slow the onset of hearing loss, protect hearing, and educate hearing-at-risk people.

The “Color of Sound™” at lessersoundapp.com grew out my desire to increase awareness of the harmfulness of noise. Too many times I’ve heard the complaint, “I hate to go to a place that is too loud.” 

I have many thoughts and ideas for potential solutions for various problems that exist for hearing-impaired people (H-I-P) and hearing-at-risk people (H-A-R-P). This is an area that has not been adequately addressed from a marketing and preventive standpoint in identifying so many otherwise harmful sound environments at work and play.

Simply stated, I am a real person who is hearing impaired. I understand the shame, silence, and fear that people with hearing loss share with our families; the ignorance of the hearing world; and the weight that is imposed upon us because of these problems. I have a strong desire and ability to address issues, advocate for solution-solving products, and provide a real face for the emerging Sound Awareness Movement™.

* This blog post is sponsored by lessersound, llc. To learn more, please visit http://www.lessersoundapp.com/

Psychology Effects of Hearing Loss in Teens

By Ann Steele, Psy.D., LMFT

Hearing loss is frequently associated with older folks. When we think of younger people and teens as being deaf or hard of hearing, we tend to assume they have been that way since birth. But that’s not always the case; children and teens can lose their hearing just as older people can, sometimes quite suddenly.

It is important to understand not only the causes of hearing loss, but also the serious issues that result. Hearing loss affects social interaction and emotional well-being, and only by appreciating these effects can friends, teachers, parents and other support figures help teens navigate the troubled times ahead. The below blog post discusses more root causes and the importance hearing has on our society. 

What causes hearing loss in teens?

Hearing loss in teens can result from many factors, including congenital defects, ear infections, autoimmune diseases, blows to the head or exposure to loud noises. This is not a complete list, unfortunately; hearing loss can result from many other issues besides.1

Understanding levels of hearing loss

While we tend to think of people as either hearing or deaf, hearing is not an absolute sense. Rather, it exists on a scale.2 So while some teens may have no hearing ability whatsoever, others may have some. When hearing begins to fade, people first have trouble picking up softer noises, then louder ones. Teens may first lose their ability to hear low hums and birds chirping and then lose spoken words in a vacuum. Eventually, in full hearing loss, they cannot hear even loud noises such as helicopters or gunshots.

The cultural importance of hearing

Sadly, hearing is not only a valuable means of communication; it is also fraught with cultural importance. Not being able to hear causes teens to miss many social cues that other, hearing, teens rely on.

For instance, they may miss the physical characteristics of voice, different dialects, varying speech registers (the ways we speak in informal versus formal situations, or at work versus at home), and the internal or emotional states of the people around them.3 These are all crucial pieces of cultural information to which the deaf and hard of hearing do not have access.

Learning impacts of deafness from birth

Deafness from birth, especially when it comes to deaf teens born to hearing parents, comes with a price tag not attached to deaf teens born to deaf parents or hearing teens who later become deaf.4 This is because when children are able to interact with parents on a daily basis during their formative years – hearing children with hearing parents or deaf children with deaf parents – they benefit from crucial language interaction.

However, teens who were born deaf to hearing parents often suffer from a disconnect that results from being unable to communicate easily. Reading levels, memory, emotional adjustment and other aspects of life may suffer.

Emotional, social and educational results of hearing loss

Even if children are able to skip the often negative effects of early deafness, hearing loss of any type has huge impacts socially, emotionally and educationally.

Teens who experience hearing loss and can’t compensate for its effects often respond in typical ways: becoming confused, checking out, losing self-reliance, feeling isolated and losing their identity.5 This impacts their ability to engage in school, to form peer relationships, to be close to their families and to pursue their interests. Such issues can be hard to overcome, but with good communication, it’s possible.

Tips for communicating with the deaf and hard of hearing

It can be quite difficult to learn to communicate with deaf or hard of hearing teens if you have never learned sign language, especially if the onset of hearing loss is sudden. However, there are a number of steps that you can take to make communication easier.

Remember, hard-of-hearing teens will rely heavily on your facial and mouth movements, so give them a full view of your face, avoiding moving or fidgeting. Don’t exaggerate your words, because this distorts how you form them, and supplement the conversation with bodily and facial gestures as you normally would.6

Mitigating the psychological effects of teen hearing loss

Helping teens foster a sense of self that moves past the disability is important, as is helping them to establish an understanding community. Supporting their efforts to communicate is crucial, but offering space where needed is very important as well. Overall, it will take time and effort – on the teen’s part and on the part of his or her support team – to overcome the disability and learn to lead a full and natural life once more. But with understanding, love and help, teens can get there.

Ann Steele, Psy.D., LMFT is the author and publisher of the "Psychology Effects of Hearing Loss in Teens." 

1. Hearing Loss Association of America (2016). Types, Causes and Treatment. Retrieved from http://www.hearingloss.org/content/types-causes-and-treatment.

2. World Health Organization (2016). Grades of Hearing Impairment. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/hearing_impairment_grades/en/.

3. Krauss, Robert M., & Pardo, Jennifer S. (2006). Speaker Perception and Social Behavior: Bridging Social Psychology and Speech Science. Retrieved from http://www.columbia.edu/~rmk7/PDF/Bridges.pdf.

4. Henderson, Valerie, Grinter, Rebecca E., & Starner, Thad (2005). Electronic Communication by Deaf Teenagers. Retrieved from https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/8451/05-34.pdf.

5. Better Hearing Institute (2016). Consequences of Hearing Loss. Retrieved from http://www.betterhearing.org/hearingpedia/consequences-hearing-loss.

6. South Carolina Hospital Association. Tips for Communicating with Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People. Retrieved from http://www.scha.org/files/documents/tips_for_communicating_with_deaf_and_hard.pdf.