Insights To Living With Hearing Loss
Kentuckiana Chapter Kentucky Home Chapter Bowling Green Contacts KCDHH HLAA National Understanding Hearing Loss Advocacy And Resources HLAA Nationwide Chapter Map Hear This! Site Index

Need some assistance? Call our HELPLINE now at (502)233-5774

All month, mental health advocates, suicide prevention organizations, survivors of suicide loss, people with lived experience, and community members across the country unite to promote suicide prevention awareness and share a powerful reminder that there are actions we can all take to look out for each other. Please CLICK on the following link: National Suicide Prevention Month

Suicide is when a person ends their own life. It’s a serious mental health issue that affects individuals, families, and communities. Learning about suicide helps us understand the warning signs, offer mental health interventions and support to those in need, and reduce stigma. Please CLICK on the following link: Suicide And Mental Health Awareness

Preventing suicide begins long before someone is experiencing a crisis. By creating healthy environments for individuals, families, and communities, we can protect people from feeling suicidal in the first place. Please CLICK on the following link: Preventing Suicide

Although hearing loss can happen at any age, a growing number of kids and teens are damaging their hearing by prolonged noise exposure to loud noise. This type of damage is called noise-induced hearing loss, which is permanent and is almost always preventable! Please CLICK on the following link: Children And Hearing Loss

One in three people older than age 60 have hearing loss, and one in two people older than age 85 have hearing loss. Please CLICK on the following link: Age-Related Hearing Loss

May is National Military Appreciation Month, a time to recognize American service members and the cost of serving. It can be an emotional, mental, and physical toll on the body. CBS News Chicago is looking into the most common disability among hearing personnel – hearing problems. Kristen Conners, an audiologist with Prescription Hearing in Palos Park, said practically every veteran has some form of tinnitus. Please CLICK on the following link: Video

We often hear about the devastating injuries sustained by soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the most common disabilities experienced by veterans we don't often hear about, is hearing loss and tinnitus. These are less visible but insidious conditions that can seriously upend every aspect of veterans’ lives. Please CLICK on the following link: Video

One of the most common causes of hearing loss is exposure to unsafe noise levels. When this occurs on a job, it is known as occupational hearing loss. There are many industries that expose employees to excessive noise, like construction, air traffic control and the military. Research has shown that members of the military are particularly at risk for occupational hearing loss. Please CLICK on the following link: Is Hearing Loss Common For Service Members?

Super Bowl Sunday is a popular national day of celebration in February. Whether you attend in the stadium or watch the game at home on the television, individuals with hearing loss have accessibility to all the action. To access live captions in the stadium during the Super Bowl, you should utilize a mobile app provided by the NFL or the host stadium that streams captions to your device, or check the large in-venue video board for open captions. The stadium is legally required under the ADA to provide auxiliary aids and services for effective communication. Many modern NFL stadiums, including recent Super Bowl venues, offer dedicated accessibility features through their official mobile apps (such as the NFL OnePass app or the host stadium's app). These apps can stream the live captions directly to your smartphone or tablet. For more information, please CLICK on the following link: Legal Requirements

Hearing loss is more than just a physical condition—it’s a communication disability that touches every part of your life. It can affect your work, relationships, your confidence and your mental health. At the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), we know that the journey with hearing loss goes beyond your ears—it’s about how you feel, connect and thrive. Please CLICK on the following link: The Emotional Side Of Hearing Loss

There are countless things that can contribute to poor hearing health, from aging to loud noise, but one you may not be aware of is gender. A recent study found that the odds of hearing loss are 5.5 times greater in men than in women. Please CLICK on the following link: Guide To Men's Hearing Health

You may think that you won’t have to deal with hearing loss for another 20, 30, or even 50 years. But maybe you’ve found yourself turning up the volume on The Bear more often, or leaning closer to friends at a noisy bar. Please CLICK on the following link: Hearing Better Is Getting Trendy

Audiologists play a key role in detecting and treating diabetes-related hearing and balance complications. These include hearing loss and higher risk of falls. Complications can be avoided or delayed with yearly ear care screenings and treatment. Please CLICK on the following link: Effect of Diabetes On Hearing And Balance

We don’t often tie eczema and hearing aids together, but many people find that they experience an increase in eczema symptoms while wearing hearing aids. Is it really the hearing aids that cause the problems, or is it something else? If you’ve ever experienced itchy ears, you know how awful and annoying it can be each day and night. Please CLICK on the following link: Ear Eczema

If you’ve ever had an ear blocked with earwax, also called a cerumen impaction, you might be wondering what you can do to keep yourself from getting another one. Or maybe you’ve just noticed more earwax around your ears than normal. In either case, pinpointing what’s causing you to make so much earwax can help. Let’s look at what might be causing your earwax buildup. Please CLICK on the following link: Earwax Buildup

Those of us with hearing loss know how hard it can sometimes be to converse comfortably with our friends and family. We get tired, frustrated and sometimes just tune out. But it is hard on those that love us as well. They don’t like to see us struggle or be unhappy, and they can get annoyed that we don’t understand what they are saying. This post is for them. Please CLICK on the following link: Have Better Conversations

For people with hearing loss, the holiday season can be incredibly stressful. Holiday parties and family gatherings can cause frustration and discomfort as you struggle to catch the joke and follow the conversation, especially when background noise interferes with your hearing aid. Even virtual family get-togethers can be difficult, due to mixed sound quality and lack of body-language signals to help communication. Please CLICK on the following link: 9 Ways To Handle Hearing Loss

Of all the risk factors that contribute to dementia, hearing loss is one of the most treatable, according to a special report from AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH). Please CLICK on the following link: Hearing Loss And Dementia

"For better or worse, my hearing loss has been a damn good coach in how to navigate uncertainty, confusion, unknowing, and fear. I feel like it’s given me a little bit of a leg up. The longer I live, the more grateful I am for my hearing loss, which isn’t to say I would wish it on anybody or that it’s been peaches and cream and smooth sailing." Please CLICK on the following link: Are There Benefits To Hearing Loss?

The combined impact of a child being deaf or hard of hearing and having additional challenges can result in complexities in identification of the child’s needs/strengths and complexities in how best to provide services, find qualified providers, and appropriately support the child and family. Without careful attention, being D/HH Plus may contribute to a sense of social isolation for the child and family. Please CLICK on the following link: What Is D/HH Plus?

Hearing loss leads to communication difficulties. To maintain optimal understanding, listeners with hearing loss must allocate more cognitive resources, or brainpower, to listening than do listeners without hearing loss. Please CLICK on the following link: Listening Fatigue

Hearing loss can impact all aspects of a person's life, from work to social situations and relationships. And, while many people don't know what it's like to live with hearing loss, it's likely that someone you interact with regularly has the condition. Here's what it's like to live with hearing loss, according to people who have it. Please CLICK on the following link: Life With Hearing Loss

Learn about personal preparedness tips for people with disabilities in the event of a disaster. The PSA emphasizes the Ready Campaign’s four building blocks of preparedness - Be Informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit and Get Involved. Please CLICK on the following link: Personal Disaster Preparedness

Addressing the psychological aspects of hearing loss should be a part of every hearing health prescription. Your doctor or audiologist may recommend a hearing aid, but that is just the beginning. Though often considered a "normal" part of aging, hearing loss does not mean it is easy to accept or endure — the psychological impacts are also critical to address. Please CLICK on the following link: Living Well With Hearing Loss

Reading someone else’s story can be a comforting way to learn and to be inspired for your own hearing loss  journey.  Hearing loss can feel less lonely when we can see someone walking with us in spirit. Please CLICK on the following link: You're Not Alone

Tree pose requires both stability and ease, concentration and comfort, strength and flexibility. It is a posture of opposites that when skillfully combined, create balance. It teaches us to build a strong and stable foundation upon which we can grow. These are the same skills I use to manage living with a hearing loss every day, but especially during a pandemic. Please CLICK on the following link: Tree Pose And Hearing Loss

Watch our dogs make their own choices in their training and how they interact with our staff. Please CLICK on the following link: Training Hearing Dogs

Service dogs are working partners for people with disabilities. Hearing dogs are specifically trained to support the needs of severely hearing impaired people. They serve as their masters’ ears and provide the added benefit of companionship. Please CLICK on the following link: Canine Companions

Six videos guaranteed to make your day! Sit back and enjoy watching our ridiculously cute hearing dog puppies learn, play and have lots of fun. Please CLICK on the following link: 6 Cute Hearing Dog Videos

Recently I wrote that I would post soon the Consumer's Guide to Hearing Aids statistics on hearing aids currently available with telecoils. After compiling that information I began work on contact information for the various brands so that those who were so inclined could email the companies to either thank them for making telecoils available or register their disappointment at the number of that company's models that did not offer a telecoils option.

My first disappointment in this endeavor was the reduction in the availability of telecoils in HAs and the next one was the difficulty in finding accurate contact information (including a CEO or other top executive) for the companies listed in the 2020 Consumer's Guide to Hearing Aids. These mostly privately owned do not post much management info and some outright refused to give it up over the phone. For some like Rexton even finding a phone number was problematic. News releases etc. on Google were some times several years old so their accuracy was questionable. That being said, I've attached a document with what contact information I was able to compile with no claim to its complete accuracy: Hearing Aid Brands Who's Who

In regard to the telecoils statistics, in 2017 71% of all listed hearing aid models in the Consumer's Guide had (or could be fitted with) telecoils. If completely in the canal hearing aids were taken out of the equation, 83% of the HAs were telecoil capable. Manufacturers or the Guide editors have dramatically reduced the number of models they offer since 2017, going down from 409 to only 303. Because most of the models dropped were telecoil capable devices, the 71% figure noted above for 2017 is now only 58% - a huge disappointment. The most useful statistic now would be that 75% of hearing aids that are capable of containing them have or can be fitted with telecoils.

Attached are the statistics for both 2020 (black, bold face) and 2017 (blue): Statistics On Hearing Aids And Telecoils 2020

Consumer's Guide, for some reason, chooses not to list some purveyors of hearing aids such as Sam's Club, Zounds and MD Hearing Aids or such OYC providers like Otophonics or Audien. Were they included the stats would be even more disappointing as none of those brands are big on t-coils.

The apparent lack of interest on the part of manufacturers for input from the end users of hearing aids is distressing. Maybe we can pique that interest by reaching out to them with requests that they review their policy on telecoils and by thanking those firms who do offer telecoils in all or most of their HAs.

Stephen O. Frazier, Hearing Loss Support Specialist

People with hearing loss have difficulty hearing and understanding speech. Despite significant advances in hearing aids and cochlear implants, these devices are frequently not enough to enable users to hear and understand what is being communicated in different settings. Please CLICK on the following link: Understanding HAT

Now that school has gone virtual, kids who are deaf and hard of hearing are adjusting to the new classroom. What challenges are they facing, and what are the solutions? Please CLICK on the following link: Challenges And Solutions

Jane Madell, PhD, talks about her experience of running a support group for middle school age children with hearing loss, the insights she gained, and the benefits of such groups for children and their families. Please CLICK on the following link: Support Groups For Children With Hearing Loss

My recently deceased husband wore hearing aids in both ears. I’m serious when I say they likely saved our marriage. And to be honest, since he lost both of them in the nursing home where he spent his final few weeks, I can’t even be sure he heard me when I told him that I loved him for the last time. Please CLICK on the following link: Hearing Loss Is The Silent Killer Of Relationships

When first dealing with hearing loss our emotions bounce all over the spectrum.  Yet, we often remain very stoic and do not express what we feel or fear. Please CLICK on the following link: Setting Free Your Hearing Loss Emotions

Communicating with someone with hearing loss takes some work, especially in a group situation like a meal. Here Shari Ebert shares her best practice tips for effective communication with someone with hearing loss. Please CLICK on the following link: When Dinner Is A Disaster

The following testimonial on video originated from Hearing Link (www.hearinglink.org), an organization based in the United Kingdom that serves the hearing loss community in a similar manner as the HLAA does in this country. Please CLICK on the following link: VIDEO

The following testimonial on video originated from Hearing Link (www.hearinglink.org), an organization based in the United Kingdom that  serves the hearing loss community in a similar manner as the HLAA does in this country. Please CLICK on the following link: VIDEO

The following testimonial on video originated from Hearing Link (www.hearinglink.org), an organization based in the United Kingdom that  serves the hearing loss community in a similar manner as the HLAA does in this country. Please CLICK on the following link: VIDEO

The following testimonial on video originated from Hearing Link (www.hearinglink.org), an organization based in the United Kingdom that  serves the hearing loss community in a similar manner as the HLAA does in this country. Please CLICK on the following link: VIDEO

The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is a tax-exempt, charitable organization and is eligible to receive tax deductible contributions under the IRS Code 501(c)(3).
The Kentucky HLAA Chapters are tax-exempt under the umbrella of HLAA.
Mention of products or services on this website does not imply HLAA or HLAA Chapters endorsement, nor does exclusion suggest disapproval.