Huh? 9 signs that your hearing loss is a problem - today > health -
Transcript of: What to do to combat hearing loss
MATT LAUER, co-host:
We're back now at 8:09. This morning on
TODAY'S HEALTH
, we're talking about
hearing loss
. If you think old age and
hearing loss
, you might want to think again. The truth is younger Americans are losing their hearing at an alarming rate, and recently I found out that that includes me as well. We live in a noisy, noisy world, so noisy that the question these days isn't '
Can you hear me now
Can you hear me
at all?' Excessive noise is now the number one cause of
hearing loss
, not aging. And of the nearly 30 million Americans who suffer from
hearing loss
, over half are under the age of 65.
Mr. JIM McDADE (Has Significant Hearing Loss at Age 39):
I had this imperceptible disability that was affecting every aspect of my life.
Thirty-nine
Jim McDade
, like a true child of the '80s, grew up wearing headphones.
Mr. McDADE:
But I would go to bed with them on at night and I'd wake up at, like,
1 in the morning
and my ears would be throbbing.
Like most people,
hearing loss
developed gradually. In the beginning, he would turn to his wife for help.
Jim McDade's Wife:
In a group situation I would end up, like, speaking for him or giving him cues so that he would know what was being said.
And then as the years went on,
began to disengage from any social situation.
Mr. McDADE:
I was always afraid of missing something, or there would be an awkward situation and inevitably I would get caught. And it was a -- there was an anxiety to that.
Another big concern, the stigma of wearing traditional
hearing aids
, especially since he was starting his own fitness business.
Mr. McDADE:
I would rather have taken my chances without them than have them in and people make judgments on me.
Audiologist Shelley Borgia
says it's a common concern.
Dr. SHELLEY BORGIA (Audiologist):
They don't want to admit that they have some level of difficulty. They feel that it's acceptable because it's acceptable to them.
hearing loss
isn't just about losing your hearing but losing your engagement with life.
Mr. McDADE:
She said, 'Look, if you don't do something about this, dementia is going to set in and your brain's just going to shut off.'
Hearing loss
is irreversible. There is no cure, but you can slow down the process and even prevent it, which is why I decided to get my hearing checked. Every morning, in the right ear, we wear what is called an
, which is a little earpiece. This worries me. I wonder what this has done to my hearing. The first part of the
hearing test
is a physical examination. So this is going to tell you how much the eardrum is actually moving?
Dr. BORGIA:
The next part of the test is the actual hearing evaluation, a series of tones I had to respond to.
Dr. BORGIA:
Ice cream.
And then a series of words I had to repeat.
Dr. BORGIA:
Dr. BORGIA:
Dr. BORGIA:
After just 20 minutes, some preliminary results.
Dr. BORGIA:
Your left ear is borderline normal hearing sensitivity. But the right ear has a mild high-frequency
hearing loss
, the right ear where you use your...
, right. Is it in the range of normal for someone who's 53 years old, or has it been exacerbated, do you think, because of that?
Dr. BORGIA:
It probably has worsened due to the noise exposure.
For now, Dr.
says I don't need a
hearing aid
, but has prescribed custom-made
for loud events.
Jim McDade
's results were quite different. He had significant
hearing loss
in both ears, requiring
hearing aids
Dr. BORGIA:
Are we having ringing?
Mr. McDADE:
Dr. BORGIA:
Mr. McDADE:
It's good.
Dr. BORGIA:
They feel OK?
Mr. McDADE:
hearing aids
are called
, but there are other choices, and they're nothing like those old beige bananas of the past.
Mr. McDADE:
When I heard the strength of my voice, it made me cry. It was as if I hadn't heard that voice in a very long time.
And now that
has regained that voice, he has a message he wants you to hear.
Mr. McDADE:
Get it taken care of. You don't know what you're missing. You don't know what you don't know.
Jim McDade
Shelley Borgia
are with us this morning. Good morning to both of you.
Mr. McDADE:
Good morning.
Nice to see you.
Dr. BORGIA:
Good morning.
Why'd you wait so long?
Mr. McDADE:
Just comfortable in my own skin and you don't really -- you're not really aware of how -- that your hearing is disappearing. It happened so slowly
, that it -- you know, you're just comfortable with who you are.
Yeah, but I was struck by something you said in the piece,
, and you said you didn't want people to be judging you.
Mr. McDADE:
And so -- yes, there is a stigma attached to this.
Mr. McDADE:
Yeah. Well, it's -- you know, someone in eyeglass someone with
hearing aids
looks handicapped.
Yeah. And so you didn't want that, especially with a fitness business.
Mr. McDADE:
I -- yeah, yeah. It's not how you want to be portrayed.
So turn sideways for me, because you've had these put in...
Mr. McDADE:
Mr. McDADE:
And these have to be put in by a professional, right? I can't see them at all, by the way.
Dr. BORGIA:
Mr. McDADE:
Dr. BORGIA:
They're invisible.
And so once they go in, how long do they stay in?
Dr. BORGIA:
About three months at a time. So it has an extended-wear battery. It's hassle free. You wake up in the morning and you start your day just like anyone else.
, are you like me? You go to a restaurant -- before these...
Mr. McDADE:
...and if there's a lot of other noise in the background, you could be looking right at the person you're having dinner with and you're having trouble with that?
Mr. McDADE:
Yeah. Yeah, it's very loud but, you know, in certain situations it's good, but in that kind of a situation not so good.
So how do these cancel out all that other noise so that you don't just hear everything louder?
Mr. McDADE:
They've got some technology in there that just kind of focuses in on what I need to hear.
Dr. BORGIA:
They're very intelligent. And because the hearing device is all the way in the
, you're using your natural ear to kind of filter out some of that noise.
Let's take a look at some -- of where these devices have come, OK.
Dr. BORGIA:
This is the one
on the table here that
has in his ears.
Dr. BORGIA:
Mr. McDADE:
And tell me about some of these other devices.
Dr. BORGIA:
OK, so the one right next to it is another alternative to a hearing device. It's very discreet. It's basically invisible at the level of the ears.
OK, these are a little larger over here.
Dr. BORGIA:
Those are the older traditional hearing devices that...
That made him cringe just now.
Mr. McDADE:
Yeah. Yeah.
Dr. BORGIA:
Those are the ones that worried you.
Mr. McDADE:
I had to grow up in grade school with something like that.
Dr. BORGIA:
Mr. McDADE:
Dr. BORGIA:
Those are the ones that no one wants me to prescribe.
Mr. McDADE:
I think a lot of
people watching
this, Doctor, might be thinking, first of all, 'How expensive are these?' and 'Are they covered by insurance?'
Dr. BORGIA:
Typically, they are not covered by insurance. The hearing examination is, so you should -- everyone should go and get a hearing exam. But the hearing devices are typically $
to $3500 per device. But...
Yeah, but they can change your life.
Dr. BORGIA:
It changes
the quality of life
And this is what you've made for me. My
hearing loss
is minor...
Dr. BORGIA:
...but it's particularly in the right ear, where I do wear this little
Dr. BORGIA:
And you want me to start to wear these earplugs when I'm around loud noises.
Dr. BORGIA:
Yes, I want you and everyone to wear those earplugs whenever you're exposed to noise, parties, events, weddings. It's very important.
Yeah, and I think that -- one of the things that was a little depressing to hear in the piece is that it's not reversible...
Mr. McDADE:
...that once you lose your hearing, or some degree of your hearing, it's gone forever.
Dr. BORGIA:
Absolutely.
Well, hey, life change dramatically for you?
Mr. McDADE:
Yes, it's a -- it's a good experience now.
That's great.
, thank you for sharing your story.
By Dr. Madan N. Kandula
TODAY contributor
Listen up — lean in if you have to: Hearing loss is a big problem in the U.S., and not just for old folks anymore. In fact,
, a recent study showed. Worried your hearing is deteriorating? Dr. Madan Kandula, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Milwaukee, Wis., has some pointers on what to listen for.
Clinton said she is inspired to keep working to ensure that Charlotte and her generation are provided equal opportunities ...
1. You're straining to understand conversations. The world is designed for normal-hearing ears. When one’s hearing begins to slip, it takes a major effort to accomplish what used to come naturally — hear.
2. Your family complains you watch TV at a too-high volume. As hearing loss creeps in, the volume bars on TVs, radios, etc. go up, up, up. For the person with hearing loss, this allows them to boost the sound to a range that they can hear. Meanwhile, their friends, neighbors and family members are blasted away by the excessive sound.
3. You're having problems hearing on the telephone. Hearing loss usually evolves gradually. Without knowing it, those with hearing loss begin to read lips and look for non-verbal clues. These crutches disappear when someone is talking on the phone.
4. Your ears are ringing. While not always a sign of hearing loss, ringing in the ears, called tinnitus, is always something to get checked out. The most common cause for tinnitus is hearing loss. Tinnitus is a common first sign that there is something wrong with the ears.
5. You've started to avoid social interactions. It takes at least two to communicate. When communication is a struggle due to decreased hearing, the natural response by many is to avoid placing themselves in the line of fire. People with hearing loss begin to retreat into a world of isolation, so that they don’t have to face the embarrassment of not being able to communicate effectively.
6. You're having trouble hearing noise that's in the background. People with ears that don’t hear normally have to strain to pick up every morsel of sound input. While this can work well in one-on-one situations, this technique backfires when there are additional sources of sound. For those with hearing loss, restaurants, bars and parties become walls of distorted sounds instead of fun, comforting gatherings.
7. You're misunderstanding what others are saying. If your ears are causing you to miss things, your mind tries to fill in the gaps. The result can be annoying and embarrassing to the person with hearing loss as well as those trying to communicate with them.
8. You're having trouble understanding the speech of women and children. Hearing loss most commonly starts impacting the higher frequencies of speech. Women’s and children’s voices start to fade into the background. People with high frequency hearing loss tend to prefer to listen to male speakers and often complain that the women and children around them either “speak too softly” or mumble.
9. You keep asking people to repeat themselves. When you don’t hear it right the first time, it’s easy to ask for a second try. While this can work a few times, the listener and the speaker tend to get annoyed pretty quickly when every other sentence is “What did you say?” or “Can you repeat that?”
Most active discussions
@HillaryClinton/twitter
Courtesy Bryan MorsemanAuto Repair Basics | Consumer InformationWhat alternatives are there to the current economic system?
Should global capitalism fail, what would be the best model to replace it? | A conversation
Los Angeles, CA
United States
CEO, Water Charity
This conversation is closed.
What alternatives are there to the current economic system?
Should global capitalism fail, what would be the best model to replace it?
There are a ton of people who are dissatisfied with how our current system operates.
Quite a few people are coming to the conclusion that this system is endemically flawed.
The Occupy movement is merely the most obvious and vocal outgrowth of a sentiment that many feel very strongly... namely that our Capitalist
model of resource and labor management is unfair, environmentally unsound, inefficient, and unsustainable.
The fact that the people who profit the most in our system are often people who do little or no actual work is fairly self-evident.
The hardest work, like toilet cleaning, often garners the most minimal of recompense, while investing in abstract economic instruments like the S&P Index can net one millions of dollars in a 10 second phone call placed from a poolside lounge chair in a 5-star resort.
Given that any system, no matter how well designed, can be improved... this debate is an attempt to spark a rational conversation on what we could do to make the exchange of goods and services more just, more effective, and more healthy for the biosphere.
There are scant few models out there that even propose any clear alternative.
Most of the writing on the subject amounts to either pure critique of the current system, or pie-in-the-sky Utopian idealism with no clear path to get from here to there.
So, brilliant TED lovers... anyone got any good ideas?
We can discuss the pros and cons of such extant alternative models as The Venus Project, the "Basic Income" (ala B.I.E.N.), some of the ideas presented in Pinchbeck's latest Evolver essay compendium "What Comes After Money?" or any other relevant topic that tickles your fancy.
Feel free to defend global capitalism if that is how you feel.
Let's keep it civil and worthy of this esteemed venue.
Logic, clarity, rationality, and respect are paramount.
It is worth pointing out that what is better or best, in this case, will be considered in light of all people and the biosphere we share.
Related Talks:
Closing Statement from Jah Sun
It has been quite an interesting exploration.
Inspiring , frustrating, informative... but most of all, it has brought certain things into sharp focus.
The basic question of "what alternatives to the global economic system are there?" has been only cursorily addressed, because the answer is that there really AREN'T any that are ready for prime time. We've seen plenty of good fixes, adjustments & modifications... some quite striking & comprehensive... but nobody has been able to put forth a clear model of what we could actually do INSTEAD of the current status quo, should this model fail.
And, fail it could... make no mistake about that.
Also, I don't think the focus should be on what is best for US Citizens (or any single nation state or group of nations). The problem is already trans-national. National solutions to trans-national problems tend to prove disastrous. Unilateral actions & heavy handed moves in one nation's interest should become a thing of the past as people wake up & realize that we all share this one Earth, that national boundaries are imaginary lines drawn by people who often never even visited the place in question, and that humanity is going to have to work together if we want to solve the major issues of our time.
As far as short term fixes go, fractional reserve banking & debt based currency need to go. Lara posted this link: /margritkennedy/docs/bue_eng_interest to an e-book which does a good job showing how this monetary system is crippling us.
The data that Richard Wilkinson put forth in his TED talk (linked in the intro) argues for us to recognize that economic inequality hurts everyone... even the ones at the top. The most equal societies are clearly the healthiest & most successful.
I think the Basic Income Guarantee is a good place to start in addressing the remorseless & uncivilized blight of abject poverty.
It is clear that we need to redress our priorities as a society.
Another conversation will follow.