Hearing Loss Awareness

Noisy Toys — Shop Smart

Noisy toys can cause hearing loss

Continue Reading Add comment December 9, 2009

Student Hearing Loss in Schools

Having just returned from an amazing conference of the Florida Council of Independent Schools held in Orlando, I’m excited to say it was a great opportunity to share some awesome statistics on student hearing loss with FCIS. Over 1300 participants signed on for a super-organized program of sessions geared to help students navigate the rough spots on their road through lower, middle and upper independent schools. Everything from ‘The Art of Playing” to ‘Secrets of Success for K-5 Hands-on Science’ to ‘Helping Students Succeed.’ The glorious Omni was our host for this wonderful weekend of learning and networking for all manner of attendees who just want to help create a better student life for our young people in Florida.

I saw tons of opportunities to include ways to educate students about causes of hearing loss and ways to prevent it. In addition, there was a ballroom filled with booths that advertised products and projects designed to make life more well-rounded, manageable and fun for our students.

As founder and president of Empowerment Through Hearing (ETH), I spoke about my own progressive hearing loss, my subsequent cochlear implant and the cool community service projects that ETH has introduced into our area…all in the name of increasing awareness. My own experience supports the facts that hearing loss can cause isolation, depression and even thoughts of suicide. It causes dis-ease in the body that makes us vulnerable to debilitating conditions like cancer. In short, hearing loss deserves our immediate attention and in this epidemic stage is a threat to the well-being of America.

Please tell your family and friends that hearing loss is a common condition — over 35 million Americans — in people of all ages. It’s preventable and it’s manageable if we get smart and get tested!

See more about this critical issue on our website: www.hearingconnection.org and read about it in ‘Listen Up!’ the book we published and placed in schools throughout Palm Beach County: www.listenupkids.com.

Add comment November 25, 2009

Be An Ambassador of Information

Just about every rock musician has been a victim. Ditto astronauts and construction workers. Even those who work with sirens have it.

What do they all have in common?

They’ve lost their precious hearing because of close proximity to loud noise.

So, the next time you see a person with ear phones, drive by a busy construction site, pass a person on a motorcycle without a helmet or catch a movie with surround sound, just remember that people could be losing their hearing in front of your eyes.

Hearing loss needs to be dragged out of the closet. If more performers, parents, teachers and youth knew they needed to protect their hearing now so they don’t have to wear hearing aids later, billions of dollars wouldn’t have to be spent on special devices, products and services. We are hoping that you – by communicating this with family and friends – could be Ambassadors of Information on Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL).

Because of loud music at concerts and extreme noise from other sources like headphones, MP3-players and blasting speakers, many of our children are losing their hearing at an early age. One in eight now suffers from NIHL. Many are misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder or labeled as troubled simply because they didn’t respond appropriately to an adult.

Often, these kids can’t hear whispers from their friends, assignments from their teachers or sports plays in huddles. And with hearing loss comes depression, a sense of isolation and even thoughts of suicide.

But all of this is preventable!

Please encourage those you care about to “pack plugs” when they are going to an event with loud noises. Keep them in your pocket, your purse or your car.

Much like using sun block to prevent skin cancer down the road, protecting yourself from loud noises can greatly protect your hearing in the future. Turn down the volume around you and those that you love.

Join me in reminding America to “Listen Up!” now so they don’t have to “Turn it Up” later.

Add comment November 13, 2009

Hearing Loss… Preventable

The following quote from world-renowned otolaryngologist, Thomas J. Balkany is directed to young readers of “Listen Up!,” a fun breezy book recently incorporated into the curriculum of Palm Beach County schools:

“Everyday I work with young people who have severe hearing loss, and the one thing we find is that many of them could have been prevented. I always wonder why taking care of our hearing isn’t highlighted as much as the other very real issues facing (young people) today. Important issues like peer pressure, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders and adolescent obesity.

We work and play in a world of wonderful gadgets that we are discovering for the first time. Most people don’t even know what effects these emerging technologies will have on our hearing in the years to come. The thing most people are shocked by, when they’re sitting in my office and the damage is done, is that many forms of hearing damage are preventable.”

I was in so much denial about my hearing loss that I didn’t even want to discuss causes and prevention. Today, we know that noise is a big factor and that protecting our ears from high decibel noise helps prevent hearing loss.

Empowerment Through Hearing published ‘Listen Up!’ to help warn young people about the alarming increase of hearing loss caused by noise. As founder of this nonprofit, it was my mission to save others the years of pain and denial I went through growing up with this condition.

There are certainly better protection products out there now than I ever knew about while I was growing up. In 2006, there was praise for Apple’s new iPod volume control, http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/03/apple_volume.html. Today there’s everything from inexpensive foam ear plugs in rainbow colors to sophisticated custom ear molds. In addition, we’ve come across the iHearSafe earbuds and headphones that keeps volume below 85 db, where the damage can begin.

Have you got any cool ways to protect your hearing? Any new products you’ve heard about? Let me know…

Write soon. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kathlyn

Add comment February 24, 2009

Our videos on Youtube

For the real deal about hearing loss, click to see our videos on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/user/hearingconnection

Add comment January 11, 2009

ETH Featured on WPTV

When striking a golf ball, titanium golf clubs have as many decibels as a jackhammer on a construction site. Click here to check out our recent video (WPTV-Channel 5) on this subject, and other videos relating to hearing loss.

http://www.hearingconnection.org/hearing_loss_video.html

2 comments January 9, 2009

Hearing Loss — Personal… Painful… Pertinent

Kathlyn Maguire - Founder, Empowerment Through Hearing
I suppose I should make some bow to the New Year; but let’s just say that I did and get right into the reason I’m sitting at this computer on a nationally-proclaimed holiday, while all my neighbors are out enjoying the fruits of a sunny 74-degree Thursday:

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35 million Americans suffer from hearing loss — that includes 1 in 8 students — so it’s hard to believe this condition remains so personalized.  I can only tell you from my own experience through decades of hearing loss that I didn’t want to acknowledge it.  I thought it was a ‘disability’ reserved for the old folks and I did everything I could to stay in denial.   I really didn’t think I had a hearing loss per se because I could hear the sound of a voice, music or background noise, but it became increasingly difficult to understand all the words.  I was famous for singing the wrong lyrics to popular rock in the 60’s.  I was a pretty good lip reader and thought I could get the general gist of most conversations.   But  too often  my comments were totally unrelated to the subject at hand —  this would send friends into a paroxysm of giggles and me into increased isolation.   I lived in New York City, where the walk and talk are fast-paced.   So it was double-tough to keep up with what everyone was saying.
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I was born in the mid-west, grew up in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, spent 20-some years in NYC and finally settled (for now) in southeast Florida.  I enjoyed a glamorous career in public relations and met some famous people.   Through most of those years, I battled a hearing loss condition that sometimes was a source of pride and other times a reason to end it all.   That’s the nutshell I’d like to expand on in the months to come, so stay with me. For me, hearing loss has been personal and painful, but I’ve begun to adopt an attitude of gratitude. 
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And this has allowed me to understand that, above all, hearing loss is pertinent.  Billions of dollars are lost annually in the U.S. due to untreated hearing loss.  A small child is reluctant to take part in a game, fearing he will ‘mis-hear’ the rules or the ref and face disdain from his peers.  80% of those diagnosed with hearing loss don’t go on for additional help, usually due to denial, embarrassment or lack of awareness (we don’t know what we don’t hear).
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In 2004 I founded Empowerment Through Hearing (ETH) to increase awareness of the epidemic nature of hearing loss.  And through this nonprofit, we published a wonderful book ‘Listen Up!’ —  a fun, breezy read about causes and prevention of hearing loss that was just introduced into all 8th grade classes in the Palm Beach County public school system.  I hope you’ll take a look at these sites when you have time.
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Statistics tell us that you or someone you care about has a significant hearing loss.  So I’m asking you to share any experiences, thoughts or ideas you may have on this subject.
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Write soon.  I look forward to hearing from you.
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Kathlyn

6 comments January 2, 2009

Welcome to Empowerment Through Hearing

4 comments December 23, 2008