If I do my job right, this column might actually change your life. More important, it might change the lives of the people you love.
But first, I need to talk about Elton John’s glasses. It was my first concert. Philadelphia Spectrum, 1972. Elton opened up with “Tiny Dancer” on solo piano. Later, during “I Think I’m Going to Kill Myself,” a character named Legs Larry Smith came out and tap danced.
But none of that is what I remember best. What has stayed with me all these years has been those stylish glasses. Spotlights flooding the stage twinkled off his rims.
Back then, I wore glasses, too. Until that moment, I had never thought of them as a fashion statement. I just thought of them as a way of existing in the world.
But of course glasses were, and are, a fashion statement. Eyewear practically defines certain people’s style. Teddy Roosevelt and his pince-nez. Iris Apfel and her signature circular specs. Mr. Peanut, rocking a monocle. In my 20s I knew a girl with perfect eyesight who even had a pair of clear glasses designed for her. “So that I look hot,” she explained, “when I take them off.”

Why, I wonder, is it that devices to keep you from being blind are celebrated as fashion, but devices to keep you from being deaf are embarrassing and uncool? Why is it that the biggest compliment someone can give you about your hearing aids is “I can hardly see them”?

Hearing loss is endemic, and not just for older people. Almost one in four Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 who think they have good hearing actually have some hearing impairment. Among those in their 50s, 4.5 million people have some hearing loss. How many wear devices that would enable them to better hear the world? Less than 5 percent.

Wearing hearing aids can change your life in an instant — not to mention that of the people you love, whose actual voices you may have been unable to hear. But we don’t get help. Because coverage by insurance carriers is inconsistent. Because we don’t know where or how to get our hearing tested. Because we’re afraid of what others might think. Because hearing loss is uncool.

This needs to change. Start with insurance: Hearing aids can be expensive, but employers need to know that people who can’t hear can’t do their jobs well. Education matters, too: People who thought it was dumb for Donald Trump to look directly at the sun during the solar eclipse might think nothing of slapping on a pair of headphones and cranking their music to 11.

The first thing you can do is to get your hearing tested; this is helpful even if you don’t think you have hearing loss, so that you have a baseline reference.  There are several FREE hearing screenings available through hearing providers and on the web.  Try and choose a reputable hearing provider.  A hearing test should be conducted in a quiet room and in sound proof booth. 

About 90 percent of hearing loss is “sensorineural,” usually caused by damage to hair cells in the inner ear. Sometimes it’s the result of exposure to loud sounds (like concerts at the Spectrum). That’s the kind of hearing loss I have; my inability to hear high-pitched sounds means that understanding a conversation in a crowded restaurant can be a challenge.
New technology enables wearers to focus their hearing on the person in front of them while canceling out all sound behind. You can control just how much of the world you want to amplify or cancel out by using a free app on your mobile device. And it looks good — I recently wore such a device at a party where, for the first time in years, I heard everything that everyone was saying. It completely changed the way I experienced the world.
When I first learned that I had serious hearing loss (after a lifetime of playing in super-loud bands), I called my wife on the phone, and as I told her of my diagnosis I started to cry. “I’m so sorry you have to be married to someone like me,” I sobbed.
My wife, a tolerant woman by any measure, laughed. “You really think I’d leave you because you have hearing aids?” she said.

Well, yeah, I sort of did. Because I thought it would make me seem old and undesirable. Because somehow I’d forgotten that the world has long been full of people just like me.
I always loved that song that Elton opened with at the Spectrum. I have a friend who loves it, too, although once, when we heard it come on the radio, she asked me: “Hey wait. Why is he singing, ‘Hold me closer, Tony Danza?’ ”

“It’s ‘Tiny Dancer,’ ” I explained. “Not Tony Danza. Tiny Dancer.”
“Duh, Jenny, like — I know, ” she said. “Did you really think I was deaf?”
It was a joke, of course, and she laughed. As if the whole idea was funny, as if our hearing was a gift we could never lose.

(Source: www.nytimes.com)

Speak out and speak often, Audiologists know there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution for people with hearing loss.
Everyone has individual needs, so other people cannot know what your needs are unless you tell them. Telling them also shares the responsibility of ensuring you understand. Do not apologise, be positive, and don’t worry – it’s in everyone’s interest you can follow what’s going on.

• If someone speaks too fast, ask them to speak more slowly

• When you introduce yourself to new people, you can say you have hearing loss, and tell them what they can do to help you

• Some people will forget, so you may need to remind them to look at you or speak up
  
  Inform yourself, then inform your employer
  Don’t just passively rely on your employer – they may not know much about hearing loss.
  Find out about your rights and your needs, and then tell your employer in a constructive way how they need to meet them. Support and advice are available through hearing loss charities and organisations, so search for ones in your area.
• Prepare the information for your employer: print out or email information
• Find out about government schemes, laws, and other sources of support such as awareness training for your colleagues
• Ask your hearing care provider for advice, materials and guidelines so you are prepared
  
  
  Network with others who have hearing lossIt can be very useful to share experiences about hearing loss. People who have dealt with it already can be very supportive and offer all sorts of practical tips. 
  
• People who have hearing loss in your workplace can help you adjust and tell you about any strategies and policies already in place
• Seek out people of your own age, perhaps beyond your company or organisation
• Look into online forums and networking groups in your area
• Missing out on informal conversations can quickly lead to feelings of isolation and lack of morale. If you struggle, we suggest you contact a hearing care professional.
  
  
  Stay positive and adapt the way you work
  
  People with hearing loss may feel they have to work extra hard to prove themselves. Their confidence takes a knock and they question whether they can still do the job at the same level. Well, you can. You are still the same person with the same skills and experience, but you may need to make some simple changes. 
• Find a quiet place to work with good acoustics – try clapping your hands and listen to the echo
• Book a quiet meeting room when you chat to people, instead of struggling at your desk
• Arrange ways to work that suit you, such as more face-to-face meetings and fewer phone calls
  
  
  Think of safety firstBe aware and be realistic about the dangers of your workplace. Do you need extra considerations? Are there some activities you should avoid if you can’t hear shouted warnings? Can you hear alarms? Perhaps you need a buddy to ensure you are alerted in the event of a fire.
• Don’t fake that you’ve heard something, get the speaker to repeat it – misunderstandings can be costly or even dangerous
• If you travel for work, tell the hotel staff that you have hearing loss and need them to alert you if there is an alarm
• Hearing aid users need to ensure their devices are working well and their batteries have sufficient life left – especially if you work in dangerous environments.
  
  

Young people continue to listen to loud music on their headphones. But a reassuring new analysis found that hearing impairment rates among teens have dropped since an alarming spike in hearing loss was reported a decade ago.

The study, in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, examined data from nationally representative samples of thousands of American youngsters aged 12 to 19 over more than two decades.

The rate of moderate hearing loss had increased to 22.5 percent in 2007-8, up from 17 percent during the period from 1988 to 1994. But it dropped to 15.2 percent in the most recent study period, in 2009-10.

The improvement surprised the researchers but is “great news,” said Dr. Dylan Chan, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and a study author. He attributed the improvement to behavioral changes such as avoiding noise and wearing volume-limiting headphones designed for children but cautioned, “I hope people don’t take this as an excuse to say noise-induced hearing loss is not a problem, so we can go back to listening to headphones at full volume.”

Hearing loss can have long-term repercussions, especially for children, affecting language acquisition and speech development, with implications for academic achievement, work performance and social functioning.

(Source: www.nytimes.com)