Latest / Starkey Sound Bites: Hearing Aids, Tinnitus, and Hearing Healthcare / Raising Awareness of Hearing Health with the HLAA’s Barbara Kelley

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Raising Awareness of Hearing Health with the HLAA’s Barbara Kelley · Starkey Sound Bites: Hearing Aids, Tinnitus, and Hearing Healthcare

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Starkey Soundbites.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Dave Faber, Starkey's Chief Innovation Officer.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_02: Our guest today is the head of the nation's leading organization representing people with hearing loss, the Hearing Loss Association of America, or HLAA.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_02: Starkey's been a proud partner and supporter of this very important organization for many years, and we're delighted to have this time to chat with Executive Director Barbara Kelly about the great things that HLAA is doing for the hearing loss community and how hearing healthcare providers can get involved.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_02: Barbara, welcome to Starkey Soundbites.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Dave.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's a pleasure to be here.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we're it's we're long overdue on getting together with you.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: And um, first things first, I think I've had the good fortune of being involved with HLAA since it was called almost an equally unpronounceable acronym, the self-help for hard of hearing.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: So we went from SHSH to HALA.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and uh uh, you know, let's talk a little bit about the genesis of this organization, which I believe began um right at the very beginning of my career, over over 40 years ago now, right?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Probably so, Dave.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: We were founded in 1979 by Rocky Stone, um, who was retired early from the CIA, who operated in his career as uh chief of station in Rome and he was in the Middle East, and the whole time he wore a big visible body A.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: But Rocky was really talented.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: He used the residual hearing that he had.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: He was an expert lip reader.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: He lipread in Farsi and Italian and English, and he started the organization because when he retired, he realized that there were a lot of people like him who were between those two worlds, not totally deaf and not totally hearing, but in between.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And he found that there was there was nothing.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So that was the inspiration to find the organization under the name of self-help for hard of hearing people.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And in 1979, self-help was very much in style.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, that was the the words of the day, but that philosophy is still true today, that you give people all the good information they need about their hearing loss, and they can make choices about what to do.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: So we very much live that philosophy today, even though we're called the Hearing Loss Association of America.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, thank you for that background and perspective.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: I had the good fortune to meet Rocky early in my career when I was working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and living in Washington, D.C.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Dr.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: Lucille Beck introduced me to him at the at the time they were in their first headquarters.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: And then just moving in, they had the grand opening.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: I want to say it was somewhere around 88 or 89 into the now, that's I think a couple offices ago because there has been such growth in the organization.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: But um what a remarkable human being he was.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: And um uh I believe it was in the 90s when he also transitioned into he he ultimately got a cochlear implant, if I'm not mistaken.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: He did.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And uh he never, you know, Rocky, by the time he retired, I think it was about 1996, he was also losing his vision because he's had macular degeneration.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember in the early days, I was hired in 1988.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I do remember you, Dave, in the early days, and of course, Dr.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Lucille Beck, I'm still in touch with her, and she was a member of our board.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: But in the early days, you know, Rocky was so open to change, he was open to anything, but he always said, No, I'm not getting a cochlear implant.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: But that was so unlike Rocky.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: But it really was because I remember when he retired, his words to me were, Barbara, keep saying yes to the future.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that was his attitude.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: So very surprising he would say that.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: But of course, when he started losing his vision and he retired and he had both hearing and vision loss, and he depended so much on lip reading, he knew that it was time.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And he was a great uh proponent, proponent of cochlear implants and any technology that would people.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and another early uh leader within uh SHHH and HLAA was Mark Ross, who also had a significant hearing loss, and he was the editor of your magazine for many years.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um and one of the things that I always admired about Mark was similar to Rocky, was you know, we we talk about the stigma associated with hearing loss and the use of hearing aids, but that doesn't pertain to HLAA members.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: In my mind, I think of the early days when I would um speak at a conference and I would have seven homemade transmitters for wirelessly or wired.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_02: Mark, Mark had a little antenna that he took off of a radio and then he put the remote microphone on it and he would extend it out and uh just unabashedly uh saying, you know, I need this to hear better.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it's it's really why I've been such a fan of HLAA for all of these years, is because it truly is self-help oriented and advocacy-oriented.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: And saying, Um, you know, Mark used to say that when you would you admit you have a hearing loss, you're sort of admitting to the world that there's an issue.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: But the challenge is when you're using assistive technology like those remote mics, you're directly involving other people in your quote-unquote disability.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: But uh, but I love that um the association and the advocacy for those with hearing loss says, I will do whatever it takes.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_02: And talking about stemming from Rocky, uh, you know, I will take whatever technology can provide me to help me communicate with other people and connect to each other.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really the history.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: And then let's talk about uh where uh you know you've been under a period, under your leadership, HLAA has been growing by leaps and bounds.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I want to talk a bit about what some of your primary initiatives are now and uh your vision for the future.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: So let's dive in a little bit on some of the initiatives for 2022 and beyond under your stewardship.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Dave, I love the way you captured that with technology because um our community or people who associate themselves with HLAA, uh, whether it's at our walk for hearing or at a convention or they get our e-news or go to one of our local chapters, that's the attitude of people who want to stay in the hearing world with technology.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: We have a strategic plan, and one of those uh pillars of our strategic plan is to reach more people.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: There's a perception, and often perception is reality, that our community is people who have severe to profound hearing loss.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I think part of that is because I think people who have severe to profound hearing loss tend to need the most help.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: So they come to our chapters where they get really good information and that really important peer-to-peer support, which you can only get in a chapter.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you don't get that by really belonging to a national organization, or the people who come to our conventions.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So we know that there are many more people who need help with their hearing, who need to take that first step, who need to think about uh their hearing loss in the world of hearing health, and you need to pay attention to hearing health very early on.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we are making some very calculated plays into reaching more people.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what we all want to do.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: We have that common goal.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, this is a big nut to crack, and we can't do it just from HLAA, we can't do it just from the hearing aid industry or other organizations, audiological organizations.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: We all have to come together and find out how to work together to do what we need to do and reach more people.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: I can't emphasize that enough.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: And we spend so much time trying to, in many cases in the past, tear each other down, even though we're all united in our focus and our passion around those with hearing and hearing imbalance disorders.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um and there's plenty of other uh things to fight out there, but but to unify, I think, has really been the hallmark of what I've seen you do uh since um you've been uh at the helm of HLAA.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I thank you for that because I think it's so important that providers, manufacturers, patients, end users, uh uh consumers, whatever you want to call them these days, members of HLAA, that we unify and uh and make sure that we're seeing the benefits of this technology while ensuring that uh there uh is no harm provided by that technology.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I think also another area that that um having attended the conference earlier this year, accessibility, I think equity is an important uh part of what I saw uh in in the luncheon that I discussed.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's it's really uh important to consider accessibility for all.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I think one of your initiatives uh with regards to looping and telecoils, we know that despite the wonderful advances that we've seen with Bluetooth and Bluetooth connectivity to smartphones, um, telecoils in many cases still represent an accessibility and equity issue that uh for those individuals who have their places of worship or adult classrooms, uh, you know, college campuses where they're already looped, um, it's a very effective means of communication.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I and I I really enjoyed the forum where we had some discussions really looking at how we unify um this wireless technology that is remarkable with both Bluetooth and uh loop and making making room for everyone in the uh in the big tent, if you will, for that, in in the sake of communication.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, Dave, that's really important because it's about access.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we look to the future, we hope to the future when uh Bluetooth is uh completely accessible to everyone.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: And but yet until then, which it's not ubiquitous, people do depend on their telecoils.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: So they need devices, hearing aids, cochlear implants with telecoils.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you're right in that hearing aid panel that we had at the convention, there were a few people who stood up and very passionately talking to hearing aid manufacturers that we depend on our telecoils.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you know, the future looks bright for accessibility because of the explosion of technology.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: And because Bluetooth will most likely be for everybody, people who have hearing, people who need hearing aids and cochlear implants, we know that when it's ubiquitous and it's for everybody, that's when we're all on that even plane.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: We have equal access.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I I look forward to the day when I can have something on my smartphone and something in my ear where I can have sound clarity.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because everybody wants good audio clarity, no matter what we're doing.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: We're in an airport and we can't hear the announcements over the loudspeaker, or we're at a concert, and we really want that high fidelity.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I think when that type of access to sound quality is for everyone, that's when people with hearing loss are going to be on the equal footing.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: But you're right, we do have other technologies.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: The telecoil is still really important to people.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like you said, there is going to be a point in time where someone will be able to walk into a movie theater, a place of worship, and be hit immediately with the opportunity to pair with whatever public address or sound system is available.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_02: We're not there yet.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so in that transition, we really need to remember on the on the I I get very excited about the technology, but when we have solutions that are already in place and highly effective, it was great to participate on that panel discussion and hear from members.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: So that you know, that's what keeps us honest is that engagement between manufacturers, industry, and uh the people that are wearing our technology.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: So it was a great discussion, and I really appreciated the candid and the if they, if you will, radical candor that was shared between the the parties at that at that uh panel.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's so interesting.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, first of all, for coming to the HLA convention this year.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's our first convention in person for two years since COVID, and we hear that um across the board, Dave, from manufacturers and from industry that you can't replace the user experience and uh the candid experience.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: And one of uh I just was talking to somebody last week who attended the convention for the first time, and he's a hearing aid wearer.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, Barbara, I've never met so many people in one place who really are in the know about hearing technology and you know, advocates, and they want access and they they understand what's going on because I think the general public out there, hearing health and what to do is still very muddy.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's tough.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, we make that analogy.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: You put on a pair of glasses, it corrects your vision, but we know that you put in hearing aids and it takes work.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's a positive step, but very intelligent, educated people just don't know what to do when it comes to taking care of their hearing.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just not muddy.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: So you get to an HLA convention and you meet a lot of people who know a lot of things about their own hearing loss or want to learn.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: Well, couldn't agree more and echo that.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: And and also will say that it was it was indeed a pleasure to attend in person uh that conference in Tampa.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: And also that it was Tampa, right?
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm yes, it was Tampa.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm losing track.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: Travel is starting up again, but uh, but it was it was so great to be there.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: Starkey was a presenting uh sponsor, a proud presenting sponsor at uh that convention, and we also sponsored the Walk for Hearing.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: Talk a little bit about, I mean, we it aligns so well with us because with our products now, the latest generation evolve, um, incorporating sensors directly in the hearing aids that can track physical activity, that's really done with a purpose, and that's because we know that there is a strong comorbidity between hearing loss and cardiovascular disease on overall health and wellness.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: And so we we know there are links between obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, all of which can be helped by people being more active if they have hearing loss.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so that that that walk for hearing is a perfect alignment between our movement on turning hearing aids from single-purpose devices into multi-purpose, multifunction ones that relate to health and wellness.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_02: But talk a little bit about why it is that HLAA decided to use the walk for hearing and how successful has that been?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the Walk for Hearing is more than 15 years old.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: We started it uh over 15 years ago, and personally, it is one of my favorite events.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: We're in 20 cities across the country at different times in the spring and fall.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: And the Walk for Hearing is where we really see the diversity of people who come out that truly represent that community where we are.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: We see different ages of people, we see parents with children who have hearing loss, we see representation in cultural diversity, and it's a huge day of not only fun, but awareness for that community.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: And where we are, uh, the cities look now to us to be there.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: And it's often people who don't know anything about hearing loss or hearing health, they become aware of the walk for hearing.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes people will bring their family members.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: We try to have hearing screening vans of the walk for hearing.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: So if uh you know, I bring my husband or you know, my brother, and oh, there's hearing screening right there.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: So that becomes an awareness campaign right there.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: But the walk for hearings are truly uh, they've been just great outreach and awareness vehicles for us that brings people together in a really fun environment.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody likes to join in a walk.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we have the walk, and I have to tell you, some people don't even walk, they they just come and they have fun and they hang out, and we have our partners there, and they'll visit the different tables and they'll eat the snacks, and they won't actually take the walk.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: But uh many people take the walk, but it's I just love seeing the kids with hearing loss, you know.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Some of these children, for the first time ever, they meet another child who wears a device, and that just you know opens up it's really a big thing for a child that you know there's other people like me.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then the parents, of course, get to share with each other, and lifelong friendships are made.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think it is such an important part of that initiative and the fact that you go to you said 24 cities now.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: 20 cities.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_02: 20 cities, okay.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_02: And and I think also, you know, the accessibility of going into those communities, raising awareness for the importance of screening hearing, why it's important that they do something about their hearing loss if they have one, being able to bond with others, I think are all really important ways that you can provide advocacy and accessibility.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the other point that you made is such a good one on diversity and inclusion, too, in those different communities.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: One of the things we we know is that hearing aids in many cases are still very expensive.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: And in some cases, people can't have difficulty affording them and providing um information as to what sources might be available for getting hearing aids or alternate ways that they can do so.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_02: And then that importance, as you said, for uh children who are fitted with hearing aids, being able to bond with other kids and and and uh people of different ethnic backgrounds.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, there's a saying you can't be what you can't see.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: And if you don't realize and recognize that that we have to represent the overall society in terms of the technologies and the services that are available, it's such an important grassroots initiative that you're doing across the country.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: Are you doing a um is HLAA predominantly a US-based organization, or do you have other chapters outside of the US?
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: No, we're predominantly US-based.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: We are involved in, you know, we're a member of the World Hearing Forum.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: We do have global initiatives, but we're really US-based with our chapters across the country and our walk for hearing.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you hit the nail on the head, Dave.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: I I like to say that hearing loss is an equal opportunity employer.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it doesn't matter what your cultural background is, what age you are.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, all of us, I'm realizing now, will at some point have a hearing loss.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I had the opportunity to have you do my audiogram when I had a visit to Starkey.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: And to my great surprise, it showed the high frequency hearing loss.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, you would think that I would know what to do with that information.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I said to our board chair, Kevin Frank, I said, Kevin, I have this high frequency hearing loss.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: What should I do?
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: And he goes, Barbara, you know what to do.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know when it starts becoming a problem what you do.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Of course I know what to do.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, that taking care of your hearing health is still a really fuzzy situation.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the walk for hearing is also a fundraiser.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: We can't dismiss that part of it.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: But what's really great is we have a line.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: In these local communities across the country.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: And they raise money for programs that stay in the community.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that even, you know, has the reach where the national organization itself can't get into those communities.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a really important event.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: And we love the walk for hearing.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_02: Excellent.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_02: Well, um, so I before we go on, uh, we do have uh listening on Starkey Soundbites, we have professionals and we also uh have uh end users, people with hearing loss who might be looking for information.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so um you could you provide uh the website location for the national organization for hearing loss association?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: And then also, let's say I want to uh see if there's a local chapter, how would I find out if there's a local chapter?
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: And if so, how do I join in?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: Because you're you're making a strong case that there are benefits both of being a national uh member and being involved in that national uh convention and some of the other educational events that we'll talk about.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: But then how about at the local level?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: How do I how do I find out locally and nationally how to join?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great question, Dave.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, go to www.hearingloss.org and you will get all the information you need.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to find out about a local chapter, there is a uh drop-down menu.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: There is find a local chapter, and that's where all our chapters are listed across the country.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: We also have a tab for the walk for hearing if you want to get involved in the walk for hearing.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're a person who might want to start a chapter or not even think that far down the road, but maybe you want to get a group of people together that you know who want to share information and support each other, you can loosely form as an HLAA group.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we'll give you a little bit of branding, we'll put your name on our website, and then you never know that that could grow.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And what we found out during the pandemic, as many people found out, that we have this new technology tool of online meetings.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: So that was the other thing that we found out during the pandemic is that uh hearing loss is isolating enough.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then you add that extra layer of isolation of not being able to see your friends and family.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, this online technology, we're on Zoom today, was so helpful because there's captions, and we found out that people in the workplace were having meetings on these online platforms.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden, because of captions and because of maybe sound quality with their computers, they were all of a sudden on an equal playing field.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: They were not sitting around a big conference table in a meeting room, not being able to hear.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, we know there's assistive technologies that could help with that, but a lot of people don't know about it.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I think a lot of people still are unaware that on PowerPoint and on Zoom and a lot of these web-based platforms, you can go and turn on captions.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: And I uh I make it a point in my presentations to turn on captioning for use by everyone, and it and especially those with hearing loss.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: But it is a great leveler to realize there are now, in addition to the wonderful real-time captioning that we've had at HLAA meetings for a long time, it's becoming more and more commonplace to have artificial intelligence-enhanced captioning for use on a conference call that you might have with your grandparents or your kids.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_02: And to take advantage of that to ease the communication between parties when we don't have the benefit of three dimensions to look at.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: We're looking at screens like we are today.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and it's something that people need to be aware of because if you don't know it, you can't use it.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, Dave, I bet when you go to a party and they find out what you do, I bet you're the most popular person in the room.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because I have to tell you, I went to a party uh Saturday night, and you know, a woman asks me, What do you do?
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I say, I work for a national organization for people with hearing loss.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: I give them the broad, you know, rather than getting into the nitty-gritty.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden, you have to talk to my husband.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: That probably happens to you.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm rarely the most popular person at a party, but increasingly as I get older and my friends do too, many of them start to want to talk about their hearing loss.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's when I become very popular because all of a sudden I'm talking to this, you know, very intelligent, retired Air Force engineer, retired officer, and he just doesn't know what to do about his hearing loss.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: And he thinks that he's the only one in the world who has a problem with hearing speech and noise.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: And he's telling me this like he's the only one.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then he told me he was on a Teams meeting that morning, and he said, I was so lost, I couldn't understand anything.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Do you know that if you go up to those three little dots at the top, you can turn on captions?
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's like I just opened up a world to him.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it's, you know, it just why don't people know about these things?
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where we are trying not only to advocate, you know, we work with the FCC, we're on the disability advisory panel, we work with regulatory, you know, public policy legislation to make sure that these platforms are accessible for people with hearing loss, but then we have to get people to know about them.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: Awareness comes after, you know, accessibility.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_02: We have to ensure that accessibility for those with hearing loss is available, but then we have to make it aware for the the general population that these technologies and and uh abilities exist.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think that's where HLAA has been so instrumental.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_02: We we talked about, you know, the perception that HLAA is for uh those with more significant losses.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_02: I can tell you that having just even been at the convention this time and in past years, that that's not the case.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, that even if you have um, you know, by what some would consider a mild or moderate degree of hearing loss, there's so much that people can learn by participating at the local level or the national level in the conferences or even the uh the educational offerings that you have.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_02: I want to talk a little bit about you hosted a conference this year, not only looking at what to do with regards to technology that exists today in the form of hearing aids or cochlear implants, but really with a future view towards developing and emerging technologies.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_02: You know, right now, the vast majority of hearing losses are not treatable by any medical or surgical treatment.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: But but I uh earlier this year uh you had a conference dedicated to emerging technologies for treatment.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: How successful was that?
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: We did.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: That was the patient-focused drug development conference that we we hosted.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: And this was uh uh primarily the audience for the FDA.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: There were three divisions of the FDA who tuned in the devices division that creates and approves technology, and the pharmaceutical division, and then the uh soft tissues division, which deals with genetics.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: And with permission from the FDA, we were able to put on this day-long conference.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: And really what it highlighted was the uh impact of hearing loss on people's daily life, and it was really uh eye-opening.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: I have to say that it's probably the only place where there's the most qualitative data about living with hearing loss.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: And there is a voice of the patient report that uh was a product of that meeting that's available on our website at hearinglossdog.org, as well as the recording of the day.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: But we had um panelists from different backgrounds, different degrees of hearing loss, different causes of hearing loss.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: And what I think is really exciting is the FDA said to us, you know, you might want to, in planning this meeting, reach out to some partner organizations to see if they would like to, you know, not really be part of it, but just put their name to it to show that they they're there, they support it.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we reached out to people and we had 54 partner organizations, and they not only were uh organizations, but some academia, some industry.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: Starkey was part of that.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: And the FDA said to us HLAA got more partner organizations in the history of these PFDD meetings.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, generally they're thinking about getting three or four partner organizations, but there are so many people interested in hearing health.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we were very pleased to bring on all these partner organizations for that meeting.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's why I wanted to be sure to talk about that a little bit anyway, just because of how impressive it was that you were able to get so many people to come together for this discussion.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_02: And it and you know, throughout my career, I mean, early on, um uh I had to really almost arm wrestle people to uh uh get them to wear hearing aids.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I think uh we're really seeing attitudes change about um what it means to have healthy hearing.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, the pandemic taught us all, even those of us with even mild amounts of hearing loss, um, how important it is to be connected to each other, primarily, you know, with all respect to those who use manual communication.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_02: We're connecting to each other through our ears and through uh through hearing.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I think you're right.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the aging baby boomers, I we're uh you know, egocentric, but I think there are many of us that are uh getting and experiencing hearing loss even if we didn't have it earlier in life.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_02: And so it is raising uh uh the awareness and the importance, even attracting the uh the interest of the last several administrations in trying to figure out how to address through Medicare or through over-the-counter hearing aids, ways to increase adoption rates by those who have hearing uh loss.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_02: You and I both know that only a third of the people with hearing loss in the U.S.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_02: actually do something about it in the form of hearing aids or cochlear implants.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think we're both aligned in saying that any way that we can raise awareness for an adoption by those with hearing loss to use some form of technology is a good thing.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I I think we're aligned on that.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: We are definitely aligned.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Let's drive people to hearing care.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I like to think, because I'm a baby boomer myself, is that I like to think that we're a generation who wants to do anything we can to stay with it and fit.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we exercise, we take vitamins, we we keep our mind tuned.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, taking care of your hearing health is part of that.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, if you don't and you're missing, you know, conversation and hearing is part of the human experience.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's how we relate, it's how we um be immersed in life.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're taken out of that and you're not looking as sharp as you could be because you're not hearing, that's really not part of what I think the baby boomer generation is all about.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we want to do anything we can to stay active and involved.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I like to use the example of my husband who says to me, he goes, you know, I don't need a hearing aid all the time.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's a matter of opinion.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: But he likes to say that I just need a little hearing enhancement from time to time, situational.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that's how he's reconciled it in his mind, in his lifestyle, and what he wants to do about his hearing health.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the way we have to start talking about it is not always go get hearing aids and this is what you need, but kind of meet people where they are.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I can tell you that he will eventually end up with those hearing aids that are pretty sophisticated that he's wearing all the time.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: But this is the way he's decided to take that first step.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, no matter what I say, no matter what organization I work for, no matter how many conventions he's gone to, this is how he's settled it in his mind.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, and you took the words out of my mouth.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_02: You we have to meet people where they are at that moment in time.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_02: And and one of my favorite uh taglines of all time was uh the self-help for hard of hearing uh loss uh one, where your hearing loss is more conspicuous than your hearing aids.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: And when it becomes an issue where he starts to recognize that he needs help all the time, he'll he'll get there, but but we all have to go at our own pace.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_02: But uh uh I that that that phrase always goes over and over in my mind of your hearing loss being more conspicuous than your hearing aids.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_02: And I long for the time, and I think we're really close.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_02: We're seeing changes where people say, I don't care what people see that I'm wearing, um, if I'm getting the help that I need to be as fully engaged as possible.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: So we're you know, Dave, that was that was a Mark Ross quote.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_02: I know it was, yeah.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_02: I love I love that tagline.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_02: You should bring it back.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it was it's let's bring it back.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_02: It's so it's so relevant to today, too.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, and I think especially with that baby boomer mantra of of wanting to live our best life at every stage of life, that I think it's time to resurrect that one.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_02: In homage to Mark.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm gonna get right on that one.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: All right, thank you, Barbara.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we're we're out of time.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: I uh we have started a tradition of trying of asking uh participants um uh a little bit about their favorite sounds.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_02: This is sound bites.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_02: So if if you were to reflect on what some of your favorite sounds are, and if if you want to make it more of like a song or or musical artist or uh uh nature sounds, can you think of those sounds that are your favorite, a couple of them?
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite sounds, and you didn't prep me for this, and the answer is so easy for me, is um our son just graduated from college this year, and he and uh all his friends are no longer filling this house with their loud, raucous roars, their laughter uh from the basement in in their college years, they would get together and they would play poker when they would come home on college break, and we would hear it clear up in the bedroom.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I love is the the kids, the young men who who pass through this house.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: My house is really quiet right now.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the sounds of silence and that that that that life that they bring.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_02: So, oh, that's great.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's that's a great one.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_02: And thank you for sharing that with me in our audience.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh, I can't thank you enough, Barbara, for spending this time talking a little bit about the history of HLAA and where you're going now with the organization.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_02: Congratulations on this tremendous growth.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_02: Starkey is just so pleased to collaborate with you on your efforts and to be a strong partner to HLAA, and we look forward to many future uh endeavors together.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you, Dave.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: We appreciate uh partnering with Starkey, and it's we have a lot of work to do, don't we?
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: But we're gonna do it.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_02: But and then, you know, I I I I I never uh I count my blessings to think about the fact that this is my 40th year in the discipline, and I can honestly say there are there there are challenging days for sure, but every morning I wake up with just as strong of passion or or energy as I did 40 years ago because there is so much opportunity.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_02: There's always challenges, but uh there's a lot of opportunity out there, and uh, and I'm delighted to be on this journey with you.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_02: And uh thank you.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: I totally agree.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_02: Great.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_02: Well, um, to our listeners, we thank you for listening to this episode of Starkey Soundbites.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_02: And if you enjoyed this conversation, please rate and review us on your preferred podcast platform.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_02: You can also follow us or hit subscribe to be sure that you don't miss a single episode.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_02: And we'll look forward to hearing you and seeing you next time.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_02: And thanks again, Barbara.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Dave.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, everyone.