1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff Lauren Boglebaum. Here. There was a time 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: when hearing aids may have seemed too many people like clunky, 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: uncomfortable gadgets that were awkward to wear. But today these 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: devices are often so small and thin that they're mostly 6 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: hidden behind the ear lobes, and you can adjust these 7 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: hearing aids with a few taps on a smartphone app 8 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: to make it easier to hear in whatever environment you 9 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: find yourself in. They're so sleek that marketers of the 10 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,880 Speaker 1: latest products described them with the kind of language you'd 11 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: expect from car commercials, and they come with all kinds 12 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: of modern features. For example, one product called the Horizon 13 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: uses an algorithm to improve speech clarity and can interact 14 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: with smartphones and other devices to handle phone calls, stream 15 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: podcasts and audio books, and even audio from television. And 16 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: another product, the Olivio AI hearing aid, uses artificial intelligence 17 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: and integrated sensors to not only make it easier to 18 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 1: hear what people are saying, but also can work with 19 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: a smartphone to track physical and brain activity, and has 20 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: a feature that can translate foreign languages for wearers. Hearing 21 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 1: aids are making technological leaps at a time when hearing 22 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: loss seems to be on the rise, both in the 23 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: US and elsewhere in the world. Some hearing loss is 24 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: the result of aging, heredity, or illnesses such as meningitis 25 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: that can damage the ears, but exposure to loud sounds, 26 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: which was once mostly a problem for industrial workers, is 27 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: a growing problem in our increasingly noisy world. Study by 28 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: University of Michigan researchers found that about nine out of 29 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: ten New York City residents were chronically exposed two levels 30 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: of noise that were high enough to harm their hearing. 31 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: Some of the risk comes from traffic and other environmental sounds, 32 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: but we inflict a lot of punishment on our ears 33 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: simply by attending sports events and concerts. If you go 34 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: to these events where earplugs, listening to music through earbuds 35 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: and cranking up the volume to drown out the ambient 36 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:12,359 Speaker 1: noise that the buds let in also does damage. As 37 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: a result, more and more of us are having problems 38 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: with our hearing at younger ages. One survey of two thousand, 39 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: four hundred and thirty nine US adults by the American 40 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: Speech Language Hearing Association found that fewer than half of 41 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,919 Speaker 1: forty nine percent described their hearing is excellent, while thirty 42 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: eight percent so that they're hearing wasn't as good as 43 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: it could be, and thirteen percent so that they were 44 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: having difficulty hearing. But despite this, only about twenty percent 45 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: of the people in the poll had had their hearing 46 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: tested in the past five years, compared to sixty one 47 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,360 Speaker 1: percent who had had vision tests, who had had their 48 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: blood pressure checked, and forty one percent who had had 49 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: their cholesterol levels tested or undergone mammograms. Hearing tests were 50 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: even less popular than procedures such as prostrate exams and 51 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: kolonoscopy's twenty three percent, and only six percent of people 52 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: in the survey said that they had gotten treatment for 53 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: hearing loss. For the article that this episode is based on, 54 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: How Stuff Work, spoke by email with Atlanta resident Kristin Palladino, 55 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: the editorial director and co founder of Equally Wed, an 56 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,520 Speaker 1: lgbt Q plus wedding publication, who happens to have been 57 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: born with severe hearing loss in both of her ears. 58 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: She doesn't even remember when she was first fitted for 59 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: hearing aids. She said, I know that I put them 60 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: in my desk drawer in third grade and refused to 61 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: wear them. I was so embarrassed of them. I just 62 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: wanted to blend in, and I felt like I stood out. Palladino, 63 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: who is now forty three, says it wasn't until she 64 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: was failing her college courses because she was missing key 65 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: information that she finally went to an audiologist and got 66 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: hearing aids again. How Stuff Works also spoke with Dr 67 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: Hope Lantern, the lead audiologist for here dot com, which 68 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: is an online source for hearing aids from various manufacturers 69 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: and also offers access to a nationwide net work of 70 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: audiologists who can provide in person testing and guidance. She 71 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: explains that waiting to get help can be a problem 72 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: because the longer someone allows hearing loss to continue, the 73 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: worst the problem will become, and the more difficult it 74 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: will be to remedy. Though the ears pick up sound, 75 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: it's really the brain that analyzes and makes sense of 76 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: all that noise, and over time, auditory deprivation will lead 77 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: to reduced activity in the parts of the brain that 78 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: process sound. However, the brain is always changing, and you 79 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: can get at least some of that activity back. Once 80 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: a person with hearing loss starts using hearing aids, there's 81 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: a period of adjustment. Initially, the rush of unfamiliar sound 82 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: may be disconcerting or overwhelming. Gradually, though, as a hearing 83 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: aid user adjusts and gets to the right settings with 84 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,600 Speaker 1: the help of an audiologist, the regular exposure to sound 85 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: can help the brain essentially rewire itself. Lanter says that 86 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: brain imaging study show audio crossing areas gaining and areas 87 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: to provide visual processing, reducing the load that they've been carrying. 88 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: Palladino said, with my hearing aids, I can hear my children, 89 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: my wife, the rain, strangers in stores trying to get 90 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 1: my attention, an ambulance blasting its siren behind me in 91 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: the road. I'm able to function in society without them. 92 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: I'm isolated and vulnerable, and technologically advanced hearing aids can 93 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 1: actually help make that transition easier. The aforementioned horizon has 94 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: a feature called relaxed mode, which allows a wearer to 95 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: block out the noise of the world for a while 96 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,359 Speaker 1: and distress with calming sounds. That ability to take breaks 97 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: and still keep the device in the ear has another 98 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: plus by making it less likely that the wearer will 99 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 1: remove the hearing aids temporarily and then forget to put 100 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: them back in. Of course, hearing aids aren't the be all, 101 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 1: end all to improving the lives of deaf and heart 102 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: of hearing individuals. If you or someone you know is 103 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:02,160 Speaker 1: experiencing hearing loss and you're not sure what to do, 104 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: or if you just want to learn more, check out 105 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: the work of organizations like the National Association of the Death. 106 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: There is so much work and advocacy being done, from 107 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,159 Speaker 1: personal education to better healthcare, to more accessible technologies to 108 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: governmental policy. Today's episode is based on the article modern 109 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: hearing aids do way more than help you here on 110 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, written by Patrick Jake Hyder. 111 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership 112 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: with how stuff works dot Com and is produced by 113 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 1: Tyler Playing. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit 114 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 115 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.