May is Better Hearing & Speech Month

Helen Keller, the famous American author, lecturer and activist once said that among her impairments, her lack of speech and hearing troubled her most. Her blindness might have separated her from things, but she felt that her lack of speech and hearing separated her from people. She felt that it caused her the human connection of communication.

So important is awareness for the importance of hearing that the month of May is declared as "Better Hearing and Speech Month" in 1927. This is a month that there is a drive to increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of the various forms of communication impairments to include those of hearing, speech, language and voice.

This campaign that pushes people to get screened for hearing loss are strengthened. The Council for Better Hearing and Speech Month go hand in hand with various organizations to get the word out to the public about hearing loss issues, and that there are free or reduced price hearing tests and assistance in obtaining hearing aids.

The Hearing Loss Association believes that there should be a need to eradicate the stigma of admitting a hearing problem. Too many people wait too long before they seek help for hearing problems. Studies show that more and more young people are having hearing problems primarily due to noise exposure. This is why the HLA initiated that a national day of hearing testing be done every May of each year.

For the celebration of this campaign, newspapers, magazines and health publications online and offline carry a lot of notices about this event. The website of the American Speech Language Hearing Association provide materials, fact sheets and many public service announcements from health professionals and educators to promote this celebration, and to provide information about hearing loss.

To make people be on the look-out for symptoms of hearing loss, here is a guideline provided:

1. Check if you have a history of hearing loss in the family.
2. Ask yourself if you have been repeatedly exposed to high noise levels.
3. Ask yourself if you are inclined to believe that most people mumble or that people do not speak as clearly as they should.
4. Do you feel a growing tension, irritability or fatigue from the effort to hear?
5. Check if you find yourself straining to understand conversations and if you watch people's faces intently when you are listening.
6. Do you frequently misunderstand and need to have things repeated?
7. See if you usually increase the TV or radio volume to the point that other people complain of the loudness.
8. Do you have diabetes, thyroid, heart problems, reoccurring ear infection, constant ringing in the ear, dizziness or exposure to ototoxic drugs or medication?

If you feel that you are answering yes to many of the questions above, you should see an audiologist for a hearing test. Dr. Jerry Punch of the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and the Oyer Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at Michigan State University asserts that hearing loss is treatable. He says that there should be no reason for anyone to miss all the important sounds of life.

Just in case you are curious about prominent figures in society who have, at least, at one point in their lives experienced hearing problems, here are a few of them (makes you wonder, if they have neglected to go and see a doctor to have their ears checked):

Jean Jacques Rousseau, 18th century famous political philosopher . He was quoted as saying that a great noise started in his ears. He described it as "low and muffled humming, a softer murmuring as though of running water". He said that there seemed to be an internal noise that impaired his ear, although not completely. It did not cause him a great deal of suffering, but labeled the concern as irksome.

David Letterman, award-winning late night talk show host. He suffers from tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ear.

Barbra Streisand, Academy-winning actress and singer. She was said to to have a volatile temperament due to the tinnitus which has had since she was 7 years old. She wore scarves around her head to try to block out the ringing sound.

Bono, U2's lead singer. He talks about his hearing problems in his songs. His name actually comes from a hearing aid store in Ireland, called "Bonavox Hearing Aids".

Bill Clinton, US president. He would always complain about his hearing loss in his annual physicals. In 1997, he started to wear a pair of state-of-the-art hearing aids.

Ludvig Van Beethoven, famous music composer. He was famously deaf, and suffered from tinnitus as well. He was said to have described it as "rushing and roaring sounds", that the noise in his ear and head drove him mad.

Thomas Edison, famous inventor. Around the age of 12, Edison lost almost all his hearing. Some attribute it to a scarlet fever he had when he was a child. Others claim that he was boxed on the ear by a conductor after Edison caused fire in the baggage car, but Edison himself feels that he lost his hearing due to an incident where he was grabbed by his ears to get into a train. This disability made him quite shy and withdrawn, thus allowing himself to be focused on his experiments and research.

Well, a disability like a hearing loss might have given birth to a great inventor like Edison. But it's not everyday that great people like him are born. We can try to be great in our own endeavors. And it would be a lot better that as we try to be the best that we can, we are able to hear the wonderful sounds of this life