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A SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE BY MEDIAPLANET Catch it early Age-related factors Know the risks to How your hearing reduce the damage needs will change HEARING HEALTH A TRUE 5 TIPS FOR HEALTHY HEARING AID EARS “Celebrity Apprentice” Marlee Matlin helps make hearing tests possible for people around the world PHOTO: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL MICHAEL PHOTO: 2 · MAY 2011 A SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE BY MEDIAPLANET CHALLENGES WE RECOMMEND How I hear Robert Chamberland’s story of living with profound hearing loss. PAGE 5 “Since a hearing aid is a sound amplifi ca- tion device, you would think it would solve the problem of hearing loss. But this simply is not true.” Can it be cured? p. 10 Once hearing loss is gone —is it gone for good? Stifling stigma p. 12 How to face the implications of living with hearing loss. With an aging population, hearing loss is a growing concern for everyone. Whether you are taking steps to prevent damange, or are relearning to communicate with a loved one, it is important to understand the tcondition that eventually affects us all. HEARING HEALTH 1ST EDITION, MAY 2011 Responsible for this issue: Publisher: David Shoemaker [email protected] Designer: Penelope Graham Listen up and learn [email protected] Contributors: Rex Banks, Robert Chamberland, Marshall Chasin, Kate Dekok, Susanne Gillespie, Gael Hannan, Jean Holden, Marjo Johne, Dr. Anil Katyal, David Lee, Dr. Vincent Lin, Shane Moodie, Jodi Ostroff, Kathy Pichura-Fuller, about hearing loss Conner Quinn, Brittany Randell, Shelley Randell, Susan Stanton, Peter Stelmacovich, Ted Venema earing loss has cifi cally called a “middle ear infec- ally adjust themselves in the presence Managing Director: Gustav Aspegren frequently been tion”. This type of pressure or fl uid of background noise can be very use- [email protected] called the invisible build-up in the middle ear can be ful. Assistive listening devices such as Editorial Manager: Jackie McDermott [email protected] handicap. quite painful but is treatable either wireless FM systems bring the speech Title Developer: David Shoemaker It is something by medication or minor ear surgery. closer to the listener and can be very [email protected] Business Developer: Chris Vassallo that is very grad- This type of hearing loss is called helpful at theatres and other noisi- [email protected] ual, typically pain- conductive because it interrupts the er locations. And not everything that Photo credit: All images are from iStock.com unless Hless, and is more often than not mis- conduction of sound to our ears. we “hear” is heard. Knowing the con- otherwise accredited. taken for something else. People text or topic of the speech allows us to with hearing loss may report ring- Fading over time fi ll in the blanks. The same can be said Distributed within: Toronto Star, May 2011 ing in their ears, increased fatigue, In contrast to a conductive hearing for using your vision (or lipreading) This section was created by Mediaplanet especially later in the day, or be loss, problems of the inner ear and to supplement what may be missed. and did not involve the Toronto Star or its Marshall Chasin, AuD. Editorial Departments. under the impression that they can beyond are called a sensori-neur- Director of Research, Those sounds that are frequently mis- only hear OK; it’s just that people al hearing loss. This is typically not Musicians’ Clinics of Canada sing with sensori-neural hearing loss mumble. Many people don’t men- medically treatable, is painless, and MY BEST TIPS are those very sounds that are visible tion it to their friends, family or unlike a conductive hearing loss on the speaker’s lips. Facing someone physicians fearing that their lack that can start during a cold or im- Hearing loss is gradual and is not just good manners—it’s good for of understanding or lack of clarity mediately after an airplane fl ight, is painless. Friends and family communication as well. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER! of speech is some sort of cognitive very gradual in progression. Sensori- frequently notice it before In this report, you will fi nd great www.facebook.com/MediaplanetCA decline. For all of these reasons it is neural hearing loss may take years to the person who has it does. examples of good communication www.twitter.com/MediaplanetCA diffi cult to get an exact estimate of notice and more often than not af- with deaf and the hard of hearing. Ac- Mediaplanet’s business is to create new the number of people with hearing fects the higher pitched consonant Initial signs of hearing loss tress Marlee Matlin has shared her customers for our advertisers by providing 1 readers with high-quality content loss. Conservative estimates suggest sounds fi rst. Sounds such as “s”, “sh”, are that you may notice that story and is an inspiration to others that motivates them to act. that about three to four million Can- “f”, and “th” contribute most of the people mumble or speech is not with profound hearing loss. Her use adians or one in 10 Canadians have clarity of speech and this is usually clear, as well as tinnitus or ringing of American Sign Language (or ASL) a signifi cant enough hearing loss to the case for most languages spoken in the ears. on television and in movies has dem- warrant intervention. in the world. People with this type onstrated the rich cultural heritage of hearing loss would report that While speaking with some- of the deaf community. Peter Stelma- Deafness denial 2 they can hear fi ne but that people one who has a hearing loss, covich is another communication star WHAT’S UP DOC? More often than not, hearing loss is mumble. face them so that they will have with hearing aids, some really impres- noticed by others long before a per- Examples of sensori-neural hear- the best chance of lipreading sive technical devices and an amazing Hearing doctors and son realizes or admits that they are ing loss are noise and music expos- speech cues visible on people’s hearing-ear dog. Peter can communi- their specialties experiencing it. When people are ure, hearing loss associated with faces. cate more eff ectively than many with ■ ENTs, also known as otolaryn- seen for a hearing assessment the aging, and very rarely, certain medi- normal hearing abilities. gologist-head and neck surgeons, fi rst comment is typically, “My wife cations. Some forms of sensori-neur- When in a noisy place such I invite you to explore this 16-page are medical doctors who specialize sent me in—she thinks I can’t hear al hearing loss are preventable—sim- 3 as a restaurant, sit with your report and discover the importance of in head and neck disorders, aff ect- her.” So why is hearing loss so fre- ply turning down the music or lis- back to a wall- this serves to mini- preventing hearing loss and manag- ing the ears, nose and throat. ENTs quently misunderstood or thought tening less often—while others are mize the sound from behind you ing a sensory defi cit that aff ects three with specialty training can cure ear- to be something else? Part of the an- inevitable and associated with aging. covering up what you want to hear. to four million Canadians—maybe related disease and infection, repair swer is related to the various mech- even you. I encourage you to learn the deformities and restore hearing anisms of hearing loss. Know your options 4 Speak slower, not louder, to a insight this report provides on issues through micro-surgery. A primary reason for a visit to a Treatment of people with sensori- hard of hearing person. such as noise induced hearing loss, ■ Audiologists assess and diagnose paediatrician or an emergency room neural hearing loss can be multi- tinnitus and the number one risk; age hearing diffi culties, select and fi t is an ear infection. This is more spe- faceted. Hearing aids that automatic- related hearing loss. hearing aids, and develop rehabili- tation strategies for patients with hearing loss. Audiologists work in various settings including private clinics, schools, hospitals, govern- The noisy culprit behind ment and universities. Some are also involved in research and pub- lic education promoting hearing hearing loss health. ■ Speech-language pathologists Bill Hodgetts often shakes tivities.” noise and hearing loss, which is a your ears—a telltale sign of exposure help adults and children with his head when he thinks of Noise is one of the leading caus- shame because noise-induced hear- to loud noise. speech, language, voice and swal- people all geared up to go es of hearing loss. There are no Can- ing loss is almost a hundred per cent “Assuming it’s a one-time expos- lowing disorders through interven- snowmobiling, drive their adian statistics tracking noise-in- preventable,” he says. ure, in about eight to 16 hours the tions that include prevention, coun- all terrain vehicle or tackle a duced hearing loss. But south of the hair cells will come back to life, but seling, treatment, management and woodworking project. border, one in three of the 36 mil- Ease up on the drums if they’re not given time to recover, rehabilitation. There are more than lion Americans with hearing loss de- In its position paper on noise pol- they’ll just die.” 7,300 speech-language pathologists “They’ve got helmets, goggles and veloped their condition because of lution, the Canadian Hearing Soci- It’s also a good idea to always have in Canada working within a multi- gloves on, which is great,” says exposure to noise, according to the ety proposes a noise control strat- on hand a pair of earplugs, which disciplinary team.

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