female announcer:
“Hearing Loss Matters”is a coproduction of theCommission of Deaf, DeafBlind,
and Hard of Hearing Minnesotansand Twin Cities PBS.[wind sighing
and birds chirping][birds trilling]– I guess it depends
on how long you live,but I think it’s inevitable.[tires squealing
and engine revving]– You just have to slow down
when you’re talking to them,be a little more patient.[whirring and clacking]– Yeah, my grandma,
she can barely hear us.[distorted, indistinct chatter]– It’s difficult trying
to communicate with themand frustrating.male narrator:
It’s a story we’ve all heard.As you get older,
you lose your hearing.Conversations become
harder to follow.Music doesn’t sing
like it used to.[distorted music]And your own familystarts yelling
across the dinner table,which doesn’t help,
by the way.– [speaking distortedly]narrator: This is
the timeless storyof hearing loss.[upbeat music]Even today, in the age
of commercial spaceflightand instant
global communication,it’s staggering just how commonage-related hearing loss
really is.After arthritis
and heart disease,it’s the third most common
chronic conditionaffecting older adults.Two out of every three of us
will experience it personallyonce we’re in our 70s.And of those, 2/3 have
noticeable hearing lossbefore the age of 60.But here’s the real problem:it turns out hearing loss
isn’t just an inconvenience;the newest research
is showing usit literally alters the brainand not in a good way.In one study,adults with mild hearing loss
were two times more likelyto develop dementiathan those
without hearing loss.Adults with severe hearing losswere five times more likely.In fact,if age-related hearing loss
goes untreated,your brain literally shrinks.It’s true.If you can’t hear
what’s going on,your brain gets smaller,leading to depression,
isolation,and even a measurable drop
in your IQ.Despite these statistics,only around one
in eight doctorsscreen for hearing loss
during a routine physical,and less than one
in seven adultswho have hearing losschoose to purchase
hearing aids.Plus, get this:even that one person
who does get hearing aids,on average,
they wait ten yearsfrom their initial diagnosis
before making the purchase,and even when they do,they don’t use
their hearing aids regularly.That’s a full decade and beyond
of shrinking brains,dropping IQs,and hour after hour
of unnecessary yelling.It doesn’t have
to be like this.We now have choices.It’s just that,
for some reason,we don’t live like we do.– [speaking distortedly][woman speaking indistinctly]– Three seconds.[woman speaking indistinctly]And it is 9:00, and here are the news headlines
with Brian McCall.– And good morning…– I came to Minnesota in 1973.Radio has always been
something that has beena special part of my life. This is First Person Radio.
I am Laura Waterman Wittstock. My father was 76 when he died. And he came to visit mewhen he was about 74,and that’s when I realized
that he had hearing lossthat was rather profound.He could still hear
a little bit.And he did not use
hearing aids.And it raised a question
in my mind.Is this from the work
that they didduring their lifetime,or is this something
that is in our family?And then, fast-forward
about ten yearswhen I was in my mid-50s,I began to experience
some hearing loss. I’m 77 now. So it’s taken quite a long time. Well, welcome to First Person
Radio, Graham Hartley.When you start to lose hearing,you think
it will not get worse,and it does.It does inevitably. – [distorted] The payment,
or the payout, of that $2,500…– But since I could
still hear conversation,I ignored the loss
that was occurring.How many coaches
did you say? – [distorted] We’re trying
to pull together a one-to-one match…– Just recently, I decided,
“Well, now is the time.”Because my family was,
you know–I kept saying,
“What? What?”And sometimes they would laugh,
and sometimes they wouldn’t. And I began to feel
self-conscious.So I went and got tested,and I have a severe loss,and they said that
once I get fitted,which will be in a few weeks,I will have to relearn
how to hear.– That is significant.
– Mm-hmm. – But life is life, and we do what we do
as human beings.And I look forward
to my hearing aidswith a great deal of optimism.[man speaking indistinctly]– The older we become,actually hearing loss becomes
more frequent for people, simply because
oftentimes it’s said that there is a lot
of wear and tear on our, you know,
hearing structures.So it seems to be a little bit
the luck of the drawand then also how
we lead our lives.– There’s hearing loss
in children, which fortunately, I think, for over two decades now,
we’ve long recognized as critically important.But when we look at hearing
loss in older adults, right,there’s much more apathyabout that type
of hearing loss,and we’re just now
beginning to understand,the last several years,
though,that it’s incredibly impactful
for things like cognitive decline
or risk of dementia, falls, even preventing
hospitalizations, that we’re seeing
that hearing loss is linked with all of these outcomes
very, very strongly. – The important thing
for someone who suspects that
they have hearing loss– and they usually can tell by having trouble hearing
in groups, also having trouble hearing
on the telephone– it’s to go to an audiologist
and get a hearing exam. That’s the only way you can tell
if you have a hearing loss. – I think that for a lot
of people it’s a combination of not wanting to acknowledge
hearing loss,but also genuinely
not really being awareof how much their hearing
is declining.narrator: Now,
as we’ve just seen,Laura is a talented
working professional,but hearing loss was impacting
her quality of life,which is why she decided
to get tested.But what does this mean,
“to get tested”?To show you,we’ve teamed up with
the University of Minnesota,and their department of Speech,
Language, and Hearing Sciences,and we began,
in true academic fashion,with an anatomy lesson.– The process of hearing
is a very elegant one. So we trap sound using
this outer part of our ear, called the pinna,
or the auricle. And there’s a hole, then,
that sound is funneled intothat leads down
into the ear canal.At the end of the ear canal
is the eardrum,which is also called
the tympanic membrane,and this vibrates
in response to sound waves.Behind the eardrum are the three
smallest bones in our body,and individually,
they’re called the malleus,the incus, and the stapes.The stapes
is the smallest bone,and it interfaces
with our cochlea,or our inner ear.So as these bones vibrate,there’s a lever action
that’s createdwhen the eardrum vibrates,and that vibration, then,
of these bonesis displacing fluidthat fills this cochlea,
or inner ear cavity.There’s a membrane all alongthe snail-shaped
inner ear structure that has thousands and thousands
of cells that sit upon it,and so as that fluid
is displacing the membrane,those cells
are being stimulated,and the stimulation
of those cellsreleases a neurotransmitter
that sends informationalong the auditory nerve
and up to the brain.So there are two main types
of hearing loss. One type is
a conductive hearing loss, meaning that there’s something
in the outer ear or the middle ear
that is preventing sound from getting through
those parts of the ear.One example is wax.So if we had complete wax
impaction in our outer ear,it would be acting
essentially as an earplug,and sound would struggle
to get through that area.Another example would beif we had fluid building up
behind our eardrumin this space
we call the middle ear.That might happen
if we had an ear infection.That, too, is almost acting
like an earplug,and sound cannot get through.So those two areas would create
a conductive hearing loss,which can often
be medically managed. However, what’s
more common for adults would be to have a loss
in the inner ear, and this type of loss is called
a sensorineural hearing loss, which is generally permanent. It’s the common
hearing loss to see as part of the normal
aging process, and it is also the type
of hearing loss that would be experienced
by somebody who has had noise exposure.Noise exposure
damages the cellsthat are contained
within the inner ear,and once they’re gone,
they’re gone for good.So when you lose hearing
as a result of noise exposure,that loss is there
for the rest of your life.narrator: Thank you, Sarah.And now let’s get tested.The patient
you’re about to meetis not actually experiencing
hearing loss.His name
is Dr. Robert Schalock.The answers he’s giving
are meant to be representativeof the typical
hearing loss patient.– Just generally,
what brings you in today? – I have trouble hearing
in noisy backgrounds. – Okay.narrator: After the questions,it’s common to perform
a visual exam of the eardrumto make sure
there are no obstructionsthat would inhibit
the evaluation procedure.– Perfect.narrator: Next, Robert is moved
into a soundproof roomfor a series of tests.– Okay,
so for this part, we’re gonna put
the headphones on your ears. Just whenever you hear
a beeping sound, I’m gonna have you press
that button there for me, if you will. [beeping]narrator:
When Robert is finished,it’s time
to discuss the results.– So just to orient you here, this is what we call
an audiogram. This side here is volume, so very soft sounds going down
to very, very loud sounds. And across the top
is pitch or frequency.Narrator: Now,
if this chart were real,the next step would be
to discuss treatment options,such as hearing aids.– So generally speaking, they’re kind of lumped
into two categories. So there’s what we call
the custom hearing aids. The other options are versions of what we call
a behind-the-ear hearing aid.– Hearing aids these dayscan easily cost up to $4,000
for a single hearing aid,and since most hearing loss
is from noise or aging, it tends to be bilateral,
in both ears. So that means you need two
hearing aids at $4,000 apiece. – The 1965 Medicare Act statutorily precludes
coverage of hearing aids, and that was written at a time–
50 years ago– when it probably made sense. They weren’t very effective
back then. They weren’t even necessarily
very expensive back then.In 50 years, though,
a lot of things have changed,in terms of the cost,in terms of how we know how
effective they are for things–even just maintaining
our daily functioningand improving
our quality of life,not to mention hopefully
things like dementia. So I think that will
cause reevaluation. – Come on right in here.narrator: In a few minutes,we’ll also show you
a real-life screeningwith a first-time patient.But first, we want to introduce
two more adultswho are experiencing
hearing loss,and as they will share with us,not all forms
of age-related hearing losstake years to develop.[gentle piano music playing]– I started playing
when I was eight.It sounds kind of
overwhelming to say it,but to me,
it’s been everything.It’s been the heart
and soul of my life, other than friends and family,
of course. ♪ ♪– My mom–
we are really close,and, yeah, I can talk
to her about anything.I was in college.
I came home for spring break.And that is when she told me.♪ ♪– I woke up, and I was deaf
on my left side.The two most likely
suspectsare a very small stroke,
right in the middle ear,or a viral infection.So we don’t know, and we’ll never know. [muffled piano music playing]Music doesn’t sound musical
to me anymoreout of my right ear.It sounds like hammershitting the pins
that hold the strings.[distorted piano music playing] ♪ ♪Once I got used
to the hearing aids–and they’re a challenge
to get used to sometimes–life is so much better.[stirring piano music playing] ♪ ♪And the day I got it,
my daughter and I experimented,and we put on CD after CD,and I could hear everything.It was so amazing.♪ ♪– I think that’s
what they need to do.They just need
to make that first stepand just have people
in their corner to help them. ♪ ♪– We cannot avoid every single
virus that is out there,every lurking bacteria.You know,
that’s difficult to do.And then we also
cannot avoid our genetics. – When you can’t hear well, it’s not so much you
can’t hear actually; it’s more that your ear is constantly sending a garbled
sound to your brain. So we’re learning now
that people with any amount
of hearing loss, their brains are literally
having to work harder, constantly processing
that very, very degraded sound, and in turn, that load on
the brain likely precipitates or can contribute
to faster rates of loss of thinking
and memory abilities and your risk of dementia. – The fact is that hearing aids
these days are small, invisible. They work really well for people with mild to moderate
hearing loss, and they can make
an enormous difference in how you go
about your daily life. [birds chirping] – Should have a picture
of her somewhere.narrator: Rick Polski
is a Vietnam veteran,and he represents
another exampleof the many ways hearing loss
can enter a person’s life.[gunfire]– I served in ’69, ’70
in Quang Tri, Vietnam,with the B Company Rangers.We did long-range patrols.We’re the eyes and ears
for the 5th Mechanized Unit,and so you can imagine
whisperingand then having all that noisefor the first five minutes
of your contact.It’s deafening.[explosion booms]
Yeah, your ears will ring.You know, it’s just–
the war machine’s loud. That’s all I can tell you.
[laughs]You know, I never noticed it
till I was toldI should go in
and get it checked,and that was 40 years later, and when I did, they said I’ve had it
a long time, and they gave me
50% bilateral hearing loss.And soon as I got
my hearing aids,I couldn’t wear ’em
around my wifebecause she’s been yelling
at me for 30 years.[laughs]You got doctor appointments,you better hear
what the doctor’s sayingor bring an interpreter
with you that can hear,because, you know,
your life could depend on it.Hearing is definitely
key for my survival. [laughs]I can’t hold a grudge.
Life’s too short.Because if you get mean
or get ugly on something,it’s gonna carry over
into your life,and, you know, so I know
I’ve got to live every daylike it’s my last,and I’m doing it. [bird trilling]Yeah, that one bird
you hear now, that’s–I can hear that loud and clear.
[laughs] [bird trills]You only got one chance
around this thing called life,and you want to be able to hear
what’s going on around you,plus seeing–
that and your vision,two important things.[motorcycle engine revving]narrator: For many adults
like Laura,hearing loss
is a gradual process.For others, like Kathleen,
it can be very sudden.And for combat veterans
like Rick,the origins are hard to miss.But regardless of the cause,many forms of hearing loss can
be improved using technology.So let’s do a quick overview,starting with the common
hearing aid.[bright acoustic guitar music]Hearing aids are actually
like prescription eyeglasses.They need to be programmed
by an audiologistto match
your specific hearing loss.The results can be impressive,but they are also expensive,and they are not covered
by Medicareor most insurance policies.♪ ♪Hearables, or personal sound
amplification products,are often confused
with hearing aidsbut are actually
over-the-counter solutions.Their quality really varies.After all, they are usually
one size fits all,but they are
much more affordable,and many people
find them helpful.For those with truly profound
hearing loss,there are cochlear implants.These devices combine a
surgically implanted componentand a small device
worn behind the earto turn sound wavesinto electrical impulses
the brain can understand.Beyond this, there are
assistive listening devices,which, like hearables,can be purchased
over the counter.Assistive listening devices
are frequently usedto amplify conversations
or the TV.[man speaks indistinctly]It also turns out,under the Americans
with Disabilities Act,public venues like theaters
and lecture hallsare required to provide
assistive listening devices,and if they have
a hearing loop,it can transmit sound
wirelesslyto the T-coil in your hardwarewithout the need to request
additional equipment.And don’t forget the apps.There are countless
downloadable programsthat have been developed
to make life easierfor those with hearing loss.There’s also a whole
host of productsthat don’t rely
on sound at all–alarm clocks and fire alarms
that vibrate your bed,as well as kitchen appliances
and doorbellsthat blink and flash.And finally,there are strategies likegetting someone’s attention
before speaking,turning off background noises,facing each other while talkingthat improve communication
more than any technologyand cost nothing at all.Bottom line:there is a technology
or strategyfor almost any situation,which means you don’t
have to tough it out.Because remember,toughing it out
has consequences.– People like to say
we hear with our brain, and what happens is that the speech pathways
of the brain, if they’re not receiving
those speech signals, get taken over
by other functions, by other–usually
other sensory functions. So when you finally do
correct the hearing loss, those speech pathways
have become– they’re not there
for you to use anymore. You have to train them
all over again, so it makes learning to hear
with a hearing aid and especially
with a cochlear implant much more difficult. – To me, if it
isn’t taken care of, you’re automatically
making yourself look older, because you’re constantly
saying, “What did you say?” Or you have to turn
your TV up real loud. And with your hearing aids, you can have the sound
at a normal level. – It was a major decision
to get a cochlear implant. I have to tell you a little
funny story about that. I was sitting with my older son, so I was giving him a hard time, ’cause he didn’t
wear sunglasses. And I said, “Do you realize
when you’re outside “and you’re not
wearing sunglasses, “you could get glaucoma,
you could get fish, and you could get cataracts,
yada, yada, yada”? And he said to me,
“I will wear sunglasses when you get a hearing aid.” [laughter] It was difficult for me
to make the decision because they’re drilling
into your head. And it’s made, you know– Even though it’s day surgery,
I think it’s major surgery. So it was a hard decision, but one I was
absolutely glad I made. – You’re happier,
I think, because you are able to be
more a part of the group because you’re understanding
what is being said.narrator: This is Deena Ness.Unlike the other adults
we’ve profiled today,she’s never had
a hearing evaluation,but she has recently noticed
she’s having difficultytracking phone conversations.– What’s bringing you
in to see us today? – Well, there’s been some
concern with my family.narrator: When Deena was done,we sat down with both her
and her audiologistto discuss the results.– I didn’t see anythingthat would raise
any red flags for me.I didn’t see any evidence
of any ear disease.I didn’t see significant
amounts of hearing loss, so…– I told my girlfriend
that I was doing this, and she goes, “Well, what
would happen if, you know, they told you you needed
a hearing aid?” And I’m like,
“I would get one.” [laughs]
‘Cause I was like…narrator: For Deena,
the results were very positive,and her audiologist
didn’t recommendany further interventions.But even so, she’s glad
she took the time.– I was kind of excited
to find out what this is.At the end of the day, I wanted
to establish my timeline.narrator: We’re now going
to turn our attentionback to Laura and Kathleen.Shortly after
our first interview,Laura was given
a new pair of hearing aids,and Kathleen made a return trip
to her audiologistto receive
a newly calibrated modelthat may improve
her ability to hear music.– It’s a different fit.[stirring piano music]Oh, my goodness. Wonderful.♪ ♪Oh, my God,
I can hear it. – Oh, my gosh.
I knew that was the part. – It was better.
It was a better quality sound. – Okay. – I couldn’t hear every note,
not that I expected to, but I could hear
enough that I– that I had no blank spots. – Okay.– Well, so far,
it’s good news.Had I not been
seeking treatmentand really thinking things
through,I wouldn’t have figured out
how to hear music again.And it’s helpful
for the family and friends.It’s better for everybody.– Well, the first thing was to
select the type of hearing aid. And there’s very expensive,
and there’s not-so-expensive,and then there’s the middle.So I chose the middle.We have raspberries.I was shockedwhen I first put them on,
and–because I can hear myself
more than anything,and then all of a sudden,
I started to hear, you know, ambient sound– the clicking
of my car instruments,things like that
that I just had not noticedin a long time.You know,
in the radio show,I can just crank the sound up,and what I get is loud,
but I don’t get nuance.The difference is–
with the digital hearing aids–is, I get nuance.Why did I wait so long? I have no idea. [laughs]narrator:
And there you have it,the story of hearing loss
as it stands today.As we’ve seen–or maybe I should say,
as we’ve heard–hearing loss is so much morethan just a natural part
of aging.It’s a chronic health conditionwith all sorts
of negative outcomes,from social isolationto a higher chance
of falling or crashingand to an increased risk
of developing dementia.[upbeat music]In short,it’s not just
a personal health issue;it’s a public health issue,and here’s why:with 10,000 baby boomersturning 65 every day
for the next 15 years,the number of people
with hearing lossis going to increase
significantly,and as we know now
from extensive research,adults with hearing loss
are 57% more likelyto have deep episodes
of stress and depression.And social isolation,which often comes hand in hand
with hearing loss,is a key factor
in morbidity and mortality,not to mention those shrinking
brains and diminishing IQs.Hearing loss really is
just the first dominoin a much larger
chain reaction,and all these dominos together,they lead to increased
health care costsand more medical interventions,all of which have
a real impact on families,retirement plans,
and state and federal budgets.So why go down that road,especially when
we don’t have to?The good news is
that treating hearing lossisn’t like fixing a heart
or replacing a knee.It’s an almost
no-risk proposition,and it has a direct
and positive impacton your quality of life.[birds chirping]♪ ♪female announcer:
“Hearing Loss Matters”is a coproduction of theCommission of Deaf, DeafBlind,
and Hard of Hearing Minnesotansand Twin Cities PBS.