September 9th has been officially designated as Grandfather’s Day. For many of us, when we think of our grandfathers (or grandmothers!), we think of their hearing difficulties and our need to shout to be understood. While this is often a source of humor and family jokes, untreated hearing loss has been shown to cause significant social and emotional hardship.
The following article by Janice D’Arcy of the Washington Post highlights the large number of Americans over 50 with some degree of hearing loss. You’ll also see a recent survey by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), and a video that is part of a new ASHA public service campaign promoting open family discussion of hearing loss.