Baby Boomer Hearing Loss

The first generation to be raised on rock-n-roll is experiencing more hearing loss than any other generation. Even the nation's second youngest president in history, 46 year old President Clinton, was wearing hearing aids in both ears five years after he entered the White House.

Hearing loss has been thought of as a problem typically affection seniors, but more American's are experiencing hearing loss at a much earlier age. 15% of school-aged children have hearing defects, but, the most noticeable segment of the population to report hearing difficulties - sensitivity to loud sounds, and incessant buzzing, both indications of hearing loss - are the Baby Boomers in their 40's and 50's.

You may wonder why this is happening. Well, we baby boomers are the first generation to be born and raised on rock music, gas-powered lawn mowers, traffic gridlock, chain saws and other everyday threats to our hearing.

Loud noise does not cause pain until the sound reaches high decibel levels. People generally don't notice the noise as damaging until it is too late. It doesn't take much to start a gradual damaging effect that can lead to partial or even total hearing loss. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that regular exposure to sounds above 70 decibels - that's the everyday sounds we all hear like a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner or gas lawn mower - can begin to damage hearing!

Most people experience hearing loss over a period of time, usually a 15 to 20 year period. Repeated and regular noise exposure damages the small hair cells of the inner ear that interprets sound vibrations as words or music or other sounds. The hair cells in the ear can not grow back because they are highly developed end-stage cells. Once they are destroyed, they are gone for good.

Men are more likely to begin losing their hearing about 10 years before women do because, typically in the past, men held more industrial and transportation jobs that have higher noise levels. The first sounds to be affected are high tones which are some of the most common sounds in spoken English. These sounds are p, s, f, t, and d and sh, ch, h and soft c. Hearing loss is so frustrating because you are losing parts of words, only hearing parts of sentences. Mid-tones that are created with the tongue and base of the throat are next to go, such as ka, la, rr. This is why people will say they can't hear someone, but when that person speaks louder, the person who has a hearing problem says "Don't shout at me'!

Years of being exposed to loud concerts,cranked-up stereos, personal CD players, iPods, leaf blowers, and environmental noises are a big reason doctors are now seeing more middle-aged people with hearing loss. It used to be that people over 65 were the most likely to need hearing aids, now hearing loss is a boomer phenomenon. Occurrences of tinnitus are on the rise and noise induced tinnitus is making the most headlines, due to the expressed concern over iPods and other music related sound systems.

Hearing loss is called the hidden disability because it doesn't get the political and financial support that more obvious handicaps receive from government and private organizations. Hearing loss is the number one disability in the world (as well as the number one birth defect among infants).

What Needs to be Done:

Even when hearing loss is present, protecting the ears can minimize further injury. Ear plugs should be worn when people are around loud power tools, attending loud concerts or when loud music is played at dance events. Larger earphone-like devices can help for especially loud tools like leaf blowers.

95% of people in America with hearing loss could be successfully treated with hearing aids, but only 22% currently use them. Why is wearing a hearing aid so hard for people to accept? Is it because it is unfashionable, unreliable, uncool, or expensive? Is it because we've always thought hearing aids are for 'old' people? Hearing aids have never been glamorized as glasses have been. We now have designer, big name glasses and people don't mind wearing them anymore. They're accepted and fashionable. This needs to be the case with hearing aids as well.

Hearing aids are expensive. The new digital devices range from about $1400 to more than $3,000 per ear, but to me, that's a small price to pay to be able to hear again. Many hearing aids now fit completely in the ear canal, nearly invisible to others. Designers and ear specialists hope that this will convince hard-of-hearing boomers to do something about their hearing problems. Now, no one really even has to know you're wearing a hearing aid.