This has been an active year for hearing health, filled with new developments, exciting research, and encouraging stories of people conquering hearing loss to achieve great things.
Just in case you missed it, here’s a recap of the year’s 15 best stories.
1. Full Metal Racket
This post by New Republic was one of several posts published in 2016 emphasizing the prominence of hearing loss among veterans. Hearing loss today is the leading disability for veterans (topping even PTSD).
In fact, the Department of Veteran Affairs states that 60 percent of those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan (around 600,000) have irreversible hearing loss or tinnitus.
Now that awareness has been raised, the military is focusing on developing helmets that minimize loud blasts while amplifying ambient sound.
2. When it comes to a challenge, she speaks the language
We’re grateful to witness a number of stories each year about people conquering hearing loss to accomplish incredible things. However once in awhile one story comes along that reminds us of what is possible with the right perspective and determination.
Caroline Aufgebauer, a high school senior, worked around the challenge of hearing loss to learn not one, not two, but three languages. She speaks English, Latin, and Spanish (earning special recognition for her performance on the national Spanish exam) and has a basic knowledge of German.
That, by the way, makes her trilingual in spite of 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 wonders for the hearing loss community by building awareness of the daily issues facing individuals with hearing loss.
In one of her popular posts on her website Living With Hearing Loss, Eberts describes five things she wishes everyone knew about hearing loss.
4. ‘It’s going to get worse’: Nearly 30 percent of teens have hearing damage
This is one among many articles cautioning about the dangers of earbud use and the growing number of teens with hearing loss.
It’s estimated that 30 percent of teens have hearing damage due to dangerous 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-attendees to safeguard their hearing during live shows.
AC/DC had to postpone its tour in the US due to lead singer 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 acquiring hearing loss and tinnitus at live events, Pearl Jam provided earplugs to fans at its concerts in an action that hopefully catches on with other bands.
Several musicians currently are suffering from hearing loss and tinnitus due to a lack of hearing protection at shows, including Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Grimes, Ozzy Osbourne,
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. See for yourself 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 best ways to increase awareness of hearing loss and reduce the stigma of hearing aids is to have a famous public figure speak on the subject.
In this article, FUBU founder, Shark Tank star, investor, and best-selling author John Daymond talks about how he overcame hearing loss and how high-tech hearing aids have enhanced 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 recruiting deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, as part of the company’s mission to increase opportunities for marginalized groups.
10 of the store’s 13 employees are hard-of-hearing or deaf. Staff members communicate principally 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 quickly technology progresses.
Dr. Kourosh Parham, a UConn physician-scientist, has developed the first blood test that can recognize the inner ear proteins linked with inner ear conditions like hearing loss and vertigo.
Perhaps the early catching of hearing loss will soon be a standard part of the yearly 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 investigation for the cure for tinnitus continued in 2016, with multiple encouraging findings.
Tinnitus is difficult to diagnose and treat, and the best treatments currently available either mask the sound or guide the patient on how to deal with the sound.
However now scientists at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified the first gene that might be able to prevent tinnitus.
13. Researchers identify part of the brain that compensates for hearing loss in older adults
As we learn more about how the brain processes and interprets sound and speech, we can begin developing more effective hearing aids and more efficient training programs to help those with hearing loss to enhance speech recognition.
Stay tuned in 2017 for additional developments in the vital 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 standard hearing test.
Research is ongoing that can enhance the accuracy of hearing testing and uncover hearing damage in young people, with ramifications including more efficient hearing protection, improved workplace noise guidelines, and highly targeted medical treatments.
15. 8 Rousing Reasons to Put a Hearing Test at the Top of Your “Done” List
And finally, here are eight very good reasons to get a hearing test, published by Better Hearing Institute. There’s no better way to start the new year than by taking control of your hearing health and making the most of all of the benefits of better hearing.
What did we leave out? What were your favorite stories of 2016?