This has been a busy year for hearing health, packed with new developments, fascinating research, and inspiring stories of people overcoming hearing loss to achieve great things.
In case you missed it, here’s a review of the year’s 15 best stories.
1. Full Metal Racket
This article by New Republic was one of many articles released in 2016 highlighting the prominence of hearing loss among veterans. Hearing loss currently is the leading disability for veterans (leading even PTSD).
In fact, the Department of Veteran Affairs states that 60 percent of those returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan (approximately 600,000) have permanent hearing loss or tinnitus.
Now that awareness has been raised, the military is working on creating helmets that minimize loud blasts while amplifying ambient sound.
2. When it comes to a challenge, she speaks the language
We’re privileged to see a number of stories each year about people conquering hearing loss to achieve amazing things. But from time to time one comes along that reminds us of what is possible with the right perspective and perseverance.
Caroline Aufgebauer, a high school senior, worked around her hearing loss to learn not one, not two, but three different languages. She speaks English, Spanish, and Latin (earning special recognition for her performance on the national Spanish exam) and has a basic familiarity with German.
Which, by the way, makes her trilingual despite an ailment that makes speech comprehension quite difficult.
3. 5 Things I Wish Everyone Knew About Hearing Loss
Shari Eberts is a hearing health advocate that has done wonderful things for the hearing loss community by raising awareness of the daily issues facing those with hearing loss.
In one of her most popular posts on her blog Living With Hearing Loss, Eberts explains five things she wishes everyone understood about hearing loss.
4. ‘It’s going to get worse’: Nearly 30 percent of teens have hearing damage
This is one among many articles warning about the negative effects of earbud use and the increasing number of teens with hearing loss.
It’s estimated that 30 percent of teens have hearing problems caused by unsafe listening practices, but that most teens are not hearing the message.
5. AC/DC Postpone Tour As Brian Johnson Faces ‘Total Hearing Loss’
This story is a great reminder for musicians and concert-goers to safeguard their hearing during live performances.
AC/DC had to delay its tour in the United States as a consequence of frontman Brian Johnson’s hearing condition. Doctors advised Johnson to stop touring immediately or risk total hearing loss.
6. Pearl Jam providing earplugs at upcoming concerts to prevent hearing loss
Responding to the growing problem of developing hearing loss and tinnitus at live events, Pearl Jam provided earplugs to fans at its concerts in an action that we hope catches on with other bands.
A number of musicians presently are dealing with hearing loss and tinnitus as a consequence of a lack of hearing protection at shows, including Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Ozzy Osbourne, Grimes, and Chris Martin.
7. Watch This Baby’s Face When the Doctor Turns on Her Hearing Aids for the First Time
We see quite a few of these videos every year, video clips of a child hearing for the first time with the use of hearing aids or cochlear implants.
But this particular video was the most watched of 2016. Check it out and try not to smile while you’re watching.
8. ‘Shark Tank’ star Daymond John: High-tech hearing aids changed my life
One of the most effective ways to increase awareness of hearing loss and reduce the stigma of hearing aids is to have a well known public figure speak on the subject.
In this post, FUBU founder, Shark Tank star, investor, and best-selling author John Daymond discusses how he beat hearing loss and how high-tech hearing aids have changed his life.
9. The cool reason you won’t hear baristas shouting drink orders at this Starbucks
Starbucks has opened a brand new store dedicated to hiring deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, as an essential part of the company’s objective to increase opportunities for marginalized groups.
10 of the store’s 13 staff members are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Staff members communicate primarily with sign-language, and customers without hearing loss can write down their orders on note cards.
10. Detecting Hearing Loss, Vertigo Via Blood Tests
This is a cool article reminding us of how rapidly technology advances.
Dr. Kourosh Parham, a UConn physician-scientist, has introduced the first blood test that can detect the inner ear proteins correlated with inner ear disorders like hearing loss and vertigo.
Perhaps the early diagnosis of hearing loss will soon be a standard part of the annual physical exam.
11. How I ‘came out’ about my hearing disability
This inspiring story is about how photographer Kate Disher-Quill finally came to accept her hearing loss and embrace and love her hearing aids.
Kate’s project, Right Hear, Right Now, is designed to empower people to accept and embrace their differences. It’s something she wishes she had access to when she was younger, something that could have inspired her to accept her own hearing loss sooner than she did.
12. When silencing phantom noises is a matter of science
The search for the cure for tinnitus continued in 2016, with several promising breakthroughs.
Tinnitus is tough to diagnose and treat, and the best treatments now available either cover up the sound or advise the patient on how to cope with the sound.
However now researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered the first gene that may have the ability to prevent tinnitus.
13. Researchers identify part of the brain that compensates for hearing loss in older adults
As we find out more information on how the brain processes and interprets sound and speech, we can begin developing more effective hearing aids and better training programs to help those with hearing loss to augment speech recognition.
Stay tuned in 2017 for additional breakthroughs in the crucial area of speech comprehension.
14. What Is ‘Hidden Hearing Loss’? Scientists Detect Symptoms In Young Adults
Hidden hearing loss can be present even in younger people who can pass a regular hearing test.
Research is ongoing that can improve the precision of hearing testing and expose hearing problems in young people, with consequences including more effective hearing protection, better workplace noise standards, and targeted medical therapies.
15. 8 Rousing Reasons to Put a Hearing Test at the Top of Your “Done” List
And last, here are eight good reasons to get a hearing test, published by Better Hearing Institute. There’s no better way to begin the new year than by taking charge of your hearing health and experiencing all of the advantages of better hearing.
What did we leave out? What were your favorite stories of 2016?
