Speaking up - PittsburghLIVE.com: "Catherine Palmer, director of audiology at UPMC Eye and Ear Hospital in Oakland, admits baby boomers sometimes are connected to a lifestyle of rock 'n' roll that has led to bad ears.
But she says most boomers haven't experienced the eardrum-thumping power of a concert frequently enough to make it a crucial matter.
Rather, she says, the group simply is dealing with the realities of an industrialized society where the ears always are being assaulted, by lawn mowers, trucks -- and loud music.
'It's a noisy world out there,' says Palmer, also an associate professor in the department of communication science and disorders at the University of Pittsburgh.
She says boomers are not in denial about hearing problems.
But, 'they are in denial of age,' she says. 'They are part of a very active generation and want to be able to communicate.'
She says, though, that baby boomers probably aren't having more hearing problems than other generations, but rather are more active in looking for solutions to their problems.
A larger group of people experiencing hearing problems makes the problems more visible -- and drives the quest for more varied solutions.
Turning up the volume"
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Speaking up & Assault on the Ears -- Sunday Newspaper Ink for my wife, Catherine Palmer
Catherine was in the newspaper the other day and I failed to put the link on my blog. Enjoy the article.
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Speaking up
By Bob Karlovits
TRIBUNE-REVIEW MUSIC WRITER
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Larry Brown of Ross is convinced a nasty mathematical formula comes into play when a person notices another wearing a hearing aid.
"You are automatically 15 years older and 50 points dumber in your IQ," he says.
Brown, 63, is one of an estimated 31 million people in the United States dealing with hearing problems, a number that is expected to double in the next 25 years, according to the Maryland-based group Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.
The Bureau of the Census says there are 75.8 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, the so-called baby-boom years. The Virginia-based Better Hearing Institute estimates 15 percent of that group, or about 11.2 million people, have some form of hearing loss.
It also estimates about 31 million Americans deal with hearing loss, so baby boomers make up about a third of that total. But boomers also make up slightly less than 25 percent of the population, so they represent a higher number of hearing-loss patients.
Assault on the ears
The hearing problems in the baby-boom generation might sometimes be -- half-jokingly -- attributed to a lifestyle of loud rock 'n' roll during their younger years.
Catherine Palmer, director of audiology at UPMC Eye and Ear Hospital in Oakland, admits baby boomers sometimes are connected to a lifestyle of rock 'n' roll that has led to bad ears.
But she says most boomers haven't experienced the eardrum-thumping power of a concert frequently enough to make it a crucial matter.
Rather, she says, the group simply is dealing with the realities of an industrialized society where the ears always are being assaulted, by lawn mowers, trucks -- and loud music.
"It's a noisy world out there," says Palmer, also an associate professor in the department of communication science and disorders at the University of Pittsburgh.
She says boomers are not in denial about hearing problems.
But, "they are in denial of age," she says. "They are part of a very active generation and want to be able to communicate."
She says, though, that baby boomers probably aren't having more hearing problems than other generations, but rather are more active in looking for solutions to their problems.
A larger group of people experiencing hearing problems makes the problems more visible -- and drives the quest for more varied solutions.
Turning up the volume
Christopher M. Eckert is an audiologist with Hearing Unlimited, which has offices in Monroeville, Jefferson, Penn Hills and Downtown. He says he is seeing more baby boomers because they are eager to cope with the problem.
"No one wants to do it," he says. "But if you have to, you have to."
Daniel T. Bigart, an audiologist who works with Greensburg otolaryngologist Mark Klingensmith, says the activities of the baby-boom generation demand the ability to hear well.
"Hearing keeps us connected with people," he says.
Todd Hillman is an ear specialist known as a neurotologist who works out of Pittsburgh Ear Associates at Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side.
He says baby boomers are dealing with hearing issues more aggressively because they have "incredibly active social, professional and athletic lives."
In the past, people nearing retirement age would be content to settle in at home.
"And then, all you have to do is turn the TV up a little louder," he says.
Now, however, healthier older people need better hearing to maintain activities on the golf course, with community groups or in what Hillman calls "fun jobs" working at something they enjoy.
"Now you have 60-year-old rock climbers who need to hear to keep track of their colleagues," UPMC's Palmer agrees.
Brown is retired, but works rehabilitating houses with his son, he says, and needs to hear well to function.
Emily Rosenthal, of Fox Chapel, also says her hearing aids are a vital part of her work lifestyle. Rosenthal, 51, volunteers on several community boards and has found her hearing aids to have created "a more relaxed lifestyle."
"Now I don't go into a meeting thinking about where I have to sit," she says. "Now I can sit anywhere and hear."
Rosenthal talks about how that concern was one of many matters that "just got to be annoying."
She and Brown both dealt with their problems for about six years before deciding to do something. Brown went to Eckert about six months ago and Rosenthal to Palmer in January.
"You don't know how awful it is to go to a dinner with friends and avoid conversations because background noise made it impossible to hear," he says.
Fighting a social stigma
These kinds of experiences are exactly what is causing the increase in people dealing with hearing issues, Palmer says.
"Boomers are dealing with things sooner than other generations, because they are an active generation and that creates demands," she says.
Eckert adds that is because of the type of jobs many boomers have. A worker in a mill or at a construction site might be able to get away with less-than-sophisticated auditory functions, but those wooing clients, teaching or dealing with Common Pleas judges definitely require better hearing, he says.
Getting a hearing aid often is not a pleasant move, Hillman says.
"There is a social stigma," he says. "If you get a hearing aid, you seem to be admitting you're getting old."
The major part of that problem, he and others agree, is connected to the appearance of the traditional hearing aid resting behind the ear.
Some patients are able to sidestep that by using devices that are nearly invisible and sit completely in the ear canal. But they have problems with distortion and feedback cause of their closeness to the ear drum and generally are better for minor hearing loss.
Bigart says behind-the-ear devices offer "overall flexibility and really represent the best help," but he, Eckert and others agree they still have image problems.
But, as we become more of a "plugged-in" society, they say, that may fade.
The growing use of technology linking earphones to cell phones and MP3 players is making it more common to see people wearing headsets. Hearing devices, therefore, eventually might be overlooked, auditory experts suggest.
Until then, though, people using hearing aids seem willing to deal with their problems.
"I was just glad there was a solution," Rosenthal says.
Bob Karlovits can be reached at bkarlovits@tribweb.com or (412) 320 7852.
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