Latest / Starkey Sound Bites: Hearing Aids, Tinnitus, and Hearing Healthcare / Men’s Hearing Health: Athlete Tyson Gillies on Hearing Loss, Confidence & Omega AI

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Men’s Hearing Health: Athlete Tyson Gillies on Hearing Loss, Confidence & Omega AI · Starkey Sound Bites: Hearing Aids, Tinnitus, and Hearing Healthcare

• 0:05
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Welcome to Starkey Soundbites.
• 0:07
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I'm your host, Dave Fabry, Starkey's Chief Hearing Health Officer.
• 0:11
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Before we dive in, please go ahead and hit like and subscribe.
• 0:16
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Uh, and every time you do this, it helps us improve our reach to help more people hear better and live better.
• 0:23
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Now, June is Men's Health Month, which is a great time to talk about men's hearing health.
• 0:30
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Now, our guest for today's episode is a return guest to SoundBites.
• 0:34
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And the last time we chatted, it was one of my favorite episodes.
• 0:38
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I really love speaking with you, Tyson Gillis.
• 0:42
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You're a great advocate for talking about hearing loss and men and that it doesn't stigmatize you.
• 0:49
  Dr. Dave Fabry: It in fact empowers you.
• 0:51
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Um, and I'm delighted to welcome you back to Starkey Soundbites.
• 0:55
  Tyson Gillies: I appreciate it, Dave.
• 0:56
  Tyson Gillies: Uh always good to have a conversation with you.
• 0:58
  Tyson Gillies: And I'm I'm super thrilled to be back here.
• 1:01
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And I I love the background.
• 1:03
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I uh we were talking before we turned on the on the recording and everything.
• 1:06
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You're down in Miami, so it it sort of fits.
• 1:08
  Dr. Dave Fabry: It's a beautiful geometric background there, and uh enjoy your time.
• 1:13
  Dr. Dave Fabry: But uh we'll and I appreciate your taking the time out of your busy schedule.
• 1:17
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You're all over the place um and um uh to talk with us today about the importance of men's hearing health.
• 1:24
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And so, beginning with that, you as an athlete uh understand this conversation typically when we talk about men's health, focuses on physical fitness.
• 1:35
  Dr. Dave Fabry: But why should hearing be a priority when we're talking about men's health?
• 1:42
  Tyson Gillies: Well, Dave, I feel like that's anything.
• 1:44
  Tyson Gillies: It it's confidence and overcoming certain types of insecurities.
• 1:49
  Tyson Gillies: Taking me as an example, I've always been, you know, a huge advocate when it comes to being physically fit, but that derived from the insecurities and the bullying that I had to, you know, overcome from childhood.
• 2:04
  Tyson Gillies: So the the two kind of just complemented each other, and you know, now it's just it's just a part of me.
• 2:12
  Tyson Gillies: It's feeling good in my own skin, and that really allows me to, or it really shadows actually thinking about my hearing impairment and the frustrations and struggles that I know that young men, women, and people all over the world have to overcome themselves.
• 2:31
  Dr. Dave Fabry: It's such an important point that you raise, and unfortunately, this is not the first time that I've talked with other individuals who were born with hearing loss, and in some cases significant hearing loss, where they were in this day and age, and you're a young guy, that they were bullied because of their hearing loss often, and they felt insecure about that.
• 2:53
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And it is often a difficult or different rather experience from what people, let's say, my age who are now for the first time dealing with hearing loss experience.
• 3:04
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And we'll get to that in a minute, but but the unique aspect of your journey, if you will, was just, you know, it seems impossible to me, but it's still the case that that people are uh made fun of because of their hearing loss when they're a kid growing up.
• 3:19
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And and in your case, as you said, that really motivated you to be better, stronger, faster than your other uh friends who didn't have hearing loss.
• 3:29
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And it clearly um that served as a motivation that enabled you to really be at the top of your game.
• 3:35
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Talk a little bit about what you do now because I think it's so impressive the way that you've been such a strong advocate and mentor to young kids and boys in particular who have significant hearing loss.
• 3:49
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And talk a little bit about your experience at mentoring and working and thriving, really, if you will, um, in the sports areas that you've been involved in.
• 3:58
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And there have been multiple.
• 4:00
  Tyson Gillies: Yeah, I mean, well, my story with, you know, retiring from baseball due to injuries, unfortunately, I turned to what I know.
• 4:08
  Tyson Gillies: And that's baseball, that's hockey, not everything that I grew up with, my passions, my first loves.
• 4:14
  Tyson Gillies: And with T21 performance organization, that is about mentoring in baseball.
• 4:20
  Tyson Gillies: But a lot of it is, and actually the most important part is building character, morale, and just, you know, giving these athletes, you know, some something to be passionate about, something to work towards.
• 4:33
  Tyson Gillies: You know, it's not about being the next professional baseball hockey player.
• 4:38
  Tyson Gillies: It's just about wanting something and being able to, you know, create a sense of urgency and being able to be as diverse as you can, whether it's being in a locker room with this personality, that personality, and you know, being able to, you know, create a confident and positive environment all around as an individual.
• 5:01
  Tyson Gillies: And between that, with the baseball company, as you know, I've now taken a role as an assistant coach with Team USA Deaf baseball team, as well as getting ready to compete in the Deaf Olympics for hockey that's taking place in January.
• 5:18
  Tyson Gillies: So most of it is just using my story.
• 5:21
  Tyson Gillies: Um, physically just showing people and over all my platforms that you can want something and don't let your any loss or disability slow you down.
• 5:31
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yeah, and and that's where I think in your case, you've lived by the example that you set for these young men and athletes that you're you're um uh modeling in baseball.
• 5:42
  Dr. Dave Fabry: But you know, we're we're talking about this issue where you've lived with this your entire life.
• 5:47
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And when would when did you first realize that your hearing loss wasn't just an ear issue that impacted you, but something that does affect your overall physical and mental health?
• 5:59
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Aside from that bullying part where kids were were motivating you to be better, stronger, faster.
• 6:05
  Dr. Dave Fabry: When did you really realize for the first time that hearing loss just wasn't something that affected your ears, but overall physical and mental health?
• 6:14
  Tyson Gillies: Oh, that has to be when I was in grade seven or seventh grade, as you guys would call it, and I was training to be quarterback for our grade upcoming grade eight team.
• 6:25
  Tyson Gillies: So in spring, it was more flag style.
• 6:28
  Tyson Gillies: We didn't have to wear helmets, and finally, once I got into the winter season in grade eight, and I was set to be quarterback because of my baseball background and my ability to throw, but when I couldn't fit my hearing aids in the helmet, and the the head coach said, Well, you know, you're a liability, so I can't put you out there, and they made me the field goal kicker.
• 6:50
  Tyson Gillies: So I think that that was the turning point for me where I finally, you know, I had to just I don't know, to be honest with you, I was so devastated and so upset about it that that was the first time that it mentally took a toll on me.
• 7:06
  Tyson Gillies: And from that moment on, that moved on to baseball, whether it was um being able being on base and coaches being worried that I couldn't hear them yelling back, whether a pitcher was picking off, to being a liability in the outfield, and all of those things were a reason why I I took to the physicality side, why I was always the first one there, why I was always trying to create a different story in everyone's mindset that they couldn't talk about anything else.
• 7:40
  Tyson Gillies: They couldn't talk about my hearing loss because I was doing everything else so correct.
• 7:45
  Tyson Gillies: And I I guess I was just first everywhere, and that's all they were talking about.
• 7:52
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Well, is there is there are there any sports that you can't do?
• 7:55
  Dr. Dave Fabry: So now football.
• 7:56
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I didn't know in the past that you started in seventh grade playing football, but how demoralizing that must have been where you really felt different.
• 8:03
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I mean, it reminds me of John Maxwell who talks about the law of the lid, and your coach undoubtedly was uh out of concern, you know, for your safety of being able to hear the signals.
• 8:13
  Dr. Dave Fabry: But but for you and and for me, I I think I would interpret it the same way.
• 8:17
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I see, okay, I'm different.
• 8:19
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You know, I can't play the position um that I want to play, and as a naturally gifted athlete and want to be the quarterback, be told that nope, you're the law of the lit.
• 8:28
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You you've got to be the kicker, an individual contributor rather than somebody leading the rest of the team uh by calling the signals.
• 8:36
  Tyson Gillies: And the worst part about all of that is the grade eight games when we were playing football, there was no defense.
• 8:43
  Tyson Gillies: So when I was kicking the field goal, I just had a time clock.
• 8:47
  Tyson Gillies: So for me, being being a competitive hockey player and being like a physical guy, this was just like demoralizing.
• 8:56
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yeah, yeah.
• 8:57
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Well, and you know, innovation can come out of that too.
• 9:00
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I a lot of people aren't aware, but I know you're familiar with Gallaudet College.
• 9:04
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Um, Gallaudet was instrumental in developing the modern huddle as we know it.
• 9:08
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Were there any other things that you did that you adapted uh or adapt now as you're working to coach baseball, young baseball players, um, or use with yourself as you're communicating on the on the hockey ice?
• 9:24
  Tyson Gillies: Actually, taking that question, I think the biggest thing that I have adapted to others is is the youth, the young kids, and especially the generation now who, you know, they're so addicted to their tablets and having their heads and their phones that having conversations now, they they struggle to look up at you.
• 9:44
  Tyson Gillies: Well, if I can't read your lips, then I have a hard time communicating.
• 9:49
  Tyson Gillies: So they get in the habit of looking at me in the face because I have to communicate with them that I can't hear you.
• 9:56
  Tyson Gillies: And it's such a young age.
• 9:58
  Tyson Gillies: So I think that's really rubbed off on a lot of our young community.
• 10:02
  Tyson Gillies: And when they come in, they know that the last thing they want to do is disappoint us.
• 10:08
  Tyson Gillies: So, like they're coaches, they're mentors.
• 10:11
  Tyson Gillies: So it's, I think that's been a uh a big example of you know what I can bring to the table.
• 10:18
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yeah.
• 10:18
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Um, did your hearing loss, you know, we talked about the disability of hearing loss, but did your hearing loss or any element of it improve any part of your game on the ice or on the field, whether in focus or visual processing or anticipation compared to uh those with without hearing loss?
• 10:39
  Tyson Gillies: Well, aside from missing your uh physicality side, yeah, absolutely.
• 10:45
  Tyson Gillies: It's preparation.
• 10:46
  Tyson Gillies: So knowing situations of the game in baseball and the field, especially being a center fielder, I had to know everything from the speed of the guy hitting, the guy in first, the guy in second, the speed of my cuts and relays, getting to proper positions, all those kind of things.
• 11:05
  Tyson Gillies: You know, know the situation of the game a lot more because I can't necessarily hear if we're cutting two, cutting three.
• 11:12
  Tyson Gillies: But I always knew where my lead man was.
• 11:15
  Tyson Gillies: So that was a huge thing.
• 11:17
  Tyson Gillies: It's it's just it's reading, reading the gridiron before things happening, having a certain point of premonition.
• 11:23
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yeah, really relying in some cases uh on your other senses to sort of augment what the hearing wouldn't provide you.
• 11:30
  Dr. Dave Fabry: But uh, but now turning a little bit to technology, you've you've been wearing uh Starkey devices for some time now.
• 11:38
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Um, what do you see in terms of the advances in hearing technology that enable you?
• 11:44
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You mentioned in seventh grade when the coach didn't allow you or was worried about wearing a helmet over your hearing aids because they wouldn't be able to be accommodated under a helmet.
• 11:54
  Dr. Dave Fabry: We've seen certainly lots of improvements in feedback cancellation and performance for devices, but talk a little bit about the way that technology has impacted you and your ability to be able to have a better sense on the field or on the ice or off.
• 12:12
  Tyson Gillies: Well, it's been amazing between what you just said and the in-the-air hearing aids, and obviously having the hearing aids be a lot more waterproof, these things would have been such an advantage for me because I remember after every single hockey game, I couldn't even get through the second period without them knocking out and having to take them out and just flying without them, anyways.
• 12:36
  Tyson Gillies: But the the advantage, the advantages of just more confidence everywhere I go, you know, having the 360 uh hearing sense and you know then being waterproof and just being around the the ocean or the pool with my friends, all these things are a huge, huge compliment to just, like I said, having conversations, being in a community and just engaging more.
• 13:01
  Tyson Gillies: And your your social awareness is incredible.
• 13:04
  Tyson Gillies: Being out in places like restaurants and you know, loud environments like F1, where I'm here in Miami to do.
• 13:12
  Tyson Gillies: It's being able to, you know, use the edge mode and cancel out certain types of the microphones so that I can focus on what's going on in front of me.
• 13:21
  Tyson Gillies: These are such game changes in life.
• 13:24
  Tyson Gillies: And the evolution has been incredible.
• 13:26
  Tyson Gillies: And these are things that I can't rave about enough to to people who ask me questions about hearing all over the world.
• 13:33
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yeah, for sure.
• 13:33
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I I think that in the Omega AI, that DNN 360 that you articulated so well really helps with not only detecting that sound is present, helping you understand speech in the presence of background noise better, with a crowd cheering, et cetera, but then also that spatial awareness that a lot of people take for granted.
• 13:52
  Dr. Dave Fabry: So with your story where we focused on someone who's lived with hearing loss, you know, your whole life, and as I said, I admire the way that you've turned that into an advantage for you personally, and then also being an advocate for others with hearing loss.
• 14:08
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Let's talk a little bit about why it is that men delay addressing hearing health issues when they start to experience them.
• 14:18
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Now, do you have any friends who maybe are starting to see maybe because they've been around Formula One uh without wearing hearing protection too long or musicians, or simply when they get to my age, uh, you know, we start to see a higher percentage of people who never had hearing difficulties previously who are encountering it.
• 14:37
  Dr. Dave Fabry: But the average man typically delays longer than the overall average from the time that they think they have a hearing loss or their friends tell them they should do something about their hearing to when they actually uh translate that into action.
• 14:52
  Tyson Gillies: I think because men assume that it will take away their ability to be an alpha.
• 14:58
  Tyson Gillies: So I think that's all men would think is like, oh, men struggle with different things as well.
• 15:04
  Tyson Gillies: When you talk about men's health, we talk about being vulnerable and showcasing that.
• 15:09
  Tyson Gillies: They think that it takes away from their ability to really be a man, and that's just not the case.
• 15:15
  Tyson Gillies: You can ask for help as a man, woman, child, everybody.
• 15:19
  Tyson Gillies: You know, and I I had to, like I said, with my hearing loss, if you if it was that, then I was never going to be a man because it was nothing that was taken away, it was already gone.
• 15:31
  Tyson Gillies: Right.
• 15:31
  Tyson Gillies: So so for me, that's what I explain to the guys all the time.
• 15:35
  Tyson Gillies: It's just like you're you're not gonna take away any part of your manhood, right?
• 15:42
  Tyson Gillies: Getting hearing aids, you're not gonna become this beta in your mind.
• 15:46
  Tyson Gillies: Yeah, like it's just not gonna happen.
• 15:48
  Tyson Gillies: What it's gonna do is it's gonna help allow you to communicate more, to engage in conversation.
• 15:53
  Tyson Gillies: You wanna be a man of the household, woman of the household, any part of that.
• 15:58
  Tyson Gillies: You have to be able to communicate.
• 16:00
  Tyson Gillies: And in order to communicate, what do you have to do?
• 16:03
  Tyson Gillies: You have to intake information.
• 16:05
  Tyson Gillies: So you take information and then you deliver.
• 16:08
  Tyson Gillies: So I talk to people all the time, and now after a few years that we've spoken, and I'm getting a little bit older now, and there are more and more people reaching out to me because all of my friends my age are actually starting to go through the process now.
• 16:24
  Tyson Gillies: Yeah.
• 16:25
  Tyson Gillies: And to me, I hate to see it, but I'm happy that I'm there to be able to guide them through it because it is a very misunderstood, and it's one of the biggest unknowns, probably when it comes to disabilities.
• 16:39
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yes, and it and it's a it's an invisible or silent disability that creeps up with you.
• 16:45
  Dr. Dave Fabry: It can strike clearly your uh uh embodiment of the fact that hearing loss can strike at any age uh and any gender, any ethnicity, you know, it can happen to anyone, but it is true that the longer you live, the more likely you are that you're gonna have a hearing loss.
• 17:02
  Dr. Dave Fabry: When I was younger, uh my friends would all say, Audiology, what?
• 17:05
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You know, what is it that you do exactly?
• 17:07
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And now they're all saying, hey, could you test my hearing?
• 17:09
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Because my partner, my wife, is saying uh I I have difficulty or I'm not paying attention anymore.
• 17:15
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And and and I think you nailed it in terms of the definition of the way that we connect to each other.
• 17:20
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Being an alpha means that you're taking care of everyone around you in your head.
• 17:25
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And if anyone says that hearing loss uh is a sign of weakness, I'm gonna refer them to you uh the future because you're a perfect example of someone who can be physically and mentally uh at the top of their game and uh and have a hearing loss.
• 17:40
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And so you know, that's one thing I'm gonna point to.
• 17:43
  Dr. Dave Fabry: The other um is you know the issues that we're starting to see in the literature and in the in the popular media, um, more and more, hearing loss doesn't occur in a vacuum.
• 17:55
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And it is often occurring with cardiovascular disease.
• 17:59
  Dr. Dave Fabry: People who are at risk of heart attack or have high blood pressure, um uh have had a stroke or have that in their family, are at increased risk of hearing loss.
• 18:09
  Dr. Dave Fabry: There's high comorbidity.
• 18:10
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And then the other thing, as you get older and older, you start to get to my age, um, uh people start worrying about cognition and untreated hearing loss.
• 18:20
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And um, and so you know, that's another area, an angle I think that uh you could point out uh to your friends as they start thinking about, oh, I'll just live with it.
• 18:28
  Dr. Dave Fabry: It should not be, for men or women, just an expected complication of having more birthdays.
• 18:37
  Tyson Gillies: Yeah, I feel like more people are starting to understand that brain health is a lot linked to hearing disability.
• 18:44
  Tyson Gillies: And that's why when I hear my friends talk about, oh, my father or my mother needs hearing, I was like, please go get them now.
• 18:51
  Tyson Gillies: I mean, I was bothering my father for years, and then finally he's wearing them now because the last thing I want him to do is sit idle at the dinner table and completely isolate himself from conversation and shutting off certain parts of his brain that is going to make him at risk for dementia down the road.
• 19:11
  Tyson Gillies: So these are all different things that people are starting to understand.
• 19:15
  Tyson Gillies: And I think that uh Mr.
• 19:18
  Tyson Gillies: Austin says it the best when he just talks about a lynch hearing impairment to brain health.
• 19:24
  Tyson Gillies: And he's taught me so much in just two visits.
• 19:27
  Tyson Gillies: I've sat in an office um with him, and it's truly incredible what he's done, and you know, it's creating helpable hearing aids.
• 19:36
  Tyson Gillies: I mean, this is this is the future, this is this is the the next gen, and it's amazing to see.
• 19:43
  Tyson Gillies: But the one thing that I I'm super happy with is people are starting to ask more questions.
• 19:50
  Tyson Gillies: People are starting to to realize what I had to overcome.
• 19:55
  Tyson Gillies: And they're they're asking me questions, but the biggest question of us all is how have you done this for so long?
• 20:02
  Tyson Gillies: How did you do that?
• 20:03
  Tyson Gillies: I'm like I would take what I've had to go through and now knowing what I know now for the in the inevitable inevitable that is gonna happen to you guys and the next person.
• 20:16
  Tyson Gillies: I've been prepared my my entire life for this.
• 20:19
  Tyson Gillies: And to lose that at 35, 36, 37, 40 years old, I would feel unfortunate in your circumstance.
• 20:29
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yeah.
• 20:30
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Absolutely.
• 20:30
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Well, I'm glad you brought up the health and wellness connection too.
• 20:33
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I remember the last time we talked, we spoke a little bit about uh one of the health and wellness features that we've incorporated in our devices since 2019, and that was initially a fall detection and alerting mechanism.
• 20:48
  Dr. Dave Fabry: So if someone uh had a family member who was wearing hearing aids and they were worried about the fact that hearing and balance are really tied together, uh elevated risk of falling comes with even just a mild degree of hearing loss in untreated hearing loss, and that increases with greater amounts of hearing loss.
• 21:06
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And and you know, we've continued to develop that connection and link between hearing and balance by then focusing on balance risk assessment.
• 21:14
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And the last time we talked, we had just come up with this balance risk assessment so that people could identify if they have a balanced gait or strength deficiency.
• 21:23
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And you said, shoot, I can use that to make sure that I'm at the top of my game, whether I'm playing baseball or hockey, and you turn you flip the script to turn that into a way to compete with yourself to get better, so that you could be at your physical peak.
• 21:38
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And I just loved that.
• 21:39
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And I continue to see now we actually have balanced training exercises so that if you chose, you could, if you had some risk of balanced gator strength, you could specifically target exercises to help overcome that deficiency so that you can continue to be and play at the top of your game.
• 21:59
  Dr. Dave Fabry: So I'm glad.
• 21:59
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You really brought that up, and I remember from our last conversation how you flipped that from something that we think of someone old and decrepit, kind of worried about falling over.
• 22:10
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And you said, I can use that, and I'm at the top of my game in sport.
• 22:14
  Tyson Gillies: Oh, absolutely.
• 22:15
  Tyson Gillies: Being uh especially getting ready for hockey, and like I said, getting a little bit older, my balance isn't like it was when I was 25, 27 in my prime.
• 22:24
  Tyson Gillies: So, yeah, being able to use that and and incorporate it into my fitness.
• 22:28
  Tyson Gillies: I mean, it's been incredible.
• 22:29
  Tyson Gillies: And obviously, using the Starkey app as well when it comes to, you know, my calories, burning my calories and all those things.
• 22:37
  Tyson Gillies: And but obviously, just looking at my social engagement, you know, how much conversation I have through the day.
• 22:45
  Tyson Gillies: I love to look at those scores because back in the day, like we said, me growing up as a young kid, I did isolate myself.
• 22:52
  Tyson Gillies: I didn't go out there and put myself out there and have conversation.
• 22:56
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yeah.
• 22:56
  Tyson Gillies: So it's been truly incredible to play a game within a game, a game called Life.
• 23:02
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Exactly.
• 23:02
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And it's just with against yourself.
• 23:04
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And you're looking at increasing that social.
• 23:06
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You brought up your dad, you know, and and you you if people see this in family members or in themselves as they start to acquire hearing loss.
• 23:15
  Dr. Dave Fabry: If they haven't lived with it their whole life, but now they've been socially active people who want to be out there uh with their friends, with their family, but if you can't hear, you start to withdraw, just like you said with your dad.
• 23:28
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And you know, thinking about the way that modern athletes are using technology to quantify their fitness levels, you've translated that into using the hearing aids with those inertial measurement units to count your your physical activity in terms of your steps and your exercise and whether you're getting up and moving around, and you're turning that into a way, another way that you can quantify and use your social engagement to sort of ensure that physically and with your cognitive function, your social engagement, that you're you're um motivating yourself every day to do better.
• 24:05
  Tyson Gillies: Yeah, you you nailed it 100%.
• 24:07
  Tyson Gillies: Back in the day, isolating myself, I took to video games, and now this is basically my uh my mature video game.
• 24:15
  Tyson Gillies: Like I said, and every day I'm just I'm just competing against myself, and you know, it's just doing that.
• 24:22
  Tyson Gillies: I'm starting to just, you know, try and aim the stigma in my own way and give people an opportunity to come up to me and uh have a conversation.
• 24:32
  Tyson Gillies: It's the first thing I bring up every day, but when I meet new people, but I first off I try and get through it as a normal person without having to make them look at me a different way.
• 24:44
  Tyson Gillies: And then after that, it was by the way, after like a day or two of having a conversation, I'm legally deaf.
• 24:50
  Tyson Gillies: And they'll be like, no way.
• 24:51
  Tyson Gillies: And then they'll start having a conversation.
• 24:53
  Tyson Gillies: So I try and earn it.
• 24:55
  Tyson Gillies: Earn the conversations first, and then but if I'm really having trouble, obviously I have no embarrassment or insecurity to write out, say, hey, I'm legally deaf.
• 25:06
  Tyson Gillies: Could could you look at me?
• 25:08
  Tyson Gillies: Like, or could we go somewhere quieter and have a conversation?
• 25:11
  Tyson Gillies: And then I can explain it to you.
• 25:13
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Yeah, tell those alpha male buddies of yours that they can be an alpha male and use omega AI and compete with themselves and even compete with their friends in terms of how much physical activity, social engagement they can do so they can continue to flex that part of their ego uh while wearing hearing aids.
• 25:32
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And another area I think, you know, you you mentioned that you're down in Miami for the Formula One race.
• 25:38
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Another area that we're really active with, and one of our fastest growing divisions, is in Sound Gear to wear hearing protection devices and active hearing protection devices to prevent hearing loss from occurring before it happens.
• 25:54
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Because unfortunately, and a lot of times when you're young and you're 20, you think you're impervious or you know, bulletproof from noise damage.
• 26:02
  Dr. Dave Fabry: But Formula One, like NASCAR, where we have a sponsorship uh with William Swalich, um, is a very noisy sport.
• 26:09
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And uh if we can prevent hearing loss from occurring uh due to hobbies or occupations, um there's plenty of work for us to go around to address all of those who've got hearing loss for other reasons than something that is preventable by noise exposure.
• 26:26
  Dr. Dave Fabry: So while you're in Miami, remind them that we have solutions in our Sound Gear division to help prevent hearing loss in uh when you're wanting to participate in noisy concerts or noisy activities like Formula One races.
• 26:39
  Tyson Gillies: Oh, that's one of the biggest things that I give to my friends the advice because I'm always traveling with all my best friends, whether it is just uh different F1s all over the world or whether it's festivals and concerts all over the world, because for my big passion and love for music, and that's the first thing I tell them, and it's just like you all your hearing is depleting slowly while you guys are doing this so much.
• 27:02
  Tyson Gillies: I was like, so you guys have to start paying attention to that.
• 27:06
  Tyson Gillies: And I was like, we're not getting any younger.
• 27:07
  Tyson Gillies: So they're starting to understand now after like a concert, we will get back to the house and they'll have a little bit of ringing in their ears, or they won't hear as well for a couple days, they feel like I'm like, Well, I'm sitting up there and on my hearing aids are not allowing me here to decibel range that it gives damage to me.
• 27:27
  Tyson Gillies: So these are the things I'm trying to explain to you.
• 27:29
  Tyson Gillies: So I have been I've been telling them a lot about the the stalky sound gear and that they should definitely get bit of yeah.
• 27:36
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Another another good tip for men's hearing month is just if you're engaged in any noisy activity, concerts for people that are hunters or like to target shoot, if their ears are ringing after they engage in an activity, uh or the Formula One race this this weekend, if their ears are ringing, that's often a cry for help that they've caused some temporary damage that can translate into permanent damage over time.
• 28:05
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And so any of those friends that after they come out of a concert or finish shooting and their ears feel stuffy or are ringing, they should think about using hearing protection next time they're engaged in that activity because it is likely a cry for help on the part of their hearing and their ears.
• 28:23
  Tyson Gillies: Exactly, 100%.
• 28:25
  Dr. Dave Fabry: So as we're getting ready to wrap up, uh I guess my my question for you would be uh as somebody that has um seen the benefits of amplification um throughout your life, uh helping to overcome some barriers uh and and prejudice that was laid in front of you because of your hearing loss, that isolation you felt, motivating that and turning it into an advantage that you could leverage with getting into peak physical shape and getting at the top of your game in baseball and in hockey, what advice would you give people, uh, men in particular, because we're talking for Men's Health Month, that if they suspect they have a hearing loss or others around them are saying something about their hearing, what advice do you have?
• 29:12
  Dr. Dave Fabry: You've you've already thrown a lot of ideas out here, but is there any single thing that they could do this week or this month as they're listening to this episode to help connect hearing to overall health and wellness?
• 29:27
  Tyson Gillies: I would say aside from getting checked, seeing audiologists and and exploring and learning more about hearing loss, it's wake up every day and walk out that door and be your authentic self.
• 29:40
  Tyson Gillies: I mean, everyone wants to be what in this world?
• 29:42
  Tyson Gillies: They want to be loved.
• 29:43
  Tyson Gillies: Okay, so be loved for the right reasons.
• 29:46
  Tyson Gillies: If you're going through that unfortunate circumstance and you have to change yourself as a human being or an individual just to get somebody to like or love you, then you're not doing it right.
• 29:59
  Tyson Gillies: You're not living this life the right way.
• 30:01
  Tyson Gillies: So I would say the biggest advice I can give you is be you.
• 30:04
  Tyson Gillies: Be you, and if people are gonna accept that, then those are the people you want around you in your circle.
• 30:10
  Tyson Gillies: If they're not, and they look at you differently like a beta now, and not the alpha male that they were used to, then they shouldn't be in your life in the first place.
• 30:18
  Tyson Gillies: And growing up in my life, I learned that at a younger age than most.
• 30:23
  Tyson Gillies: So my circle got a lot smaller, but at the same time, it allowed me to be me and be confident.
• 30:31
  Tyson Gillies: And people that have accepted it, they're the ones that are in my life every day now, and I would do anything for them.
• 30:38
  Tyson Gillies: So that's the advice I give everybody.
• 30:40
  Dr. Dave Fabry: It's so well said, and it is often the case that uh uh across gender, you know, uh men often have fewer close friends um than uh our female counterparts.
• 30:53
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And um, you know, I just think how fortunate people are to have you as a role model.
• 30:58
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Uh I I just so enjoy our conversations every time I learn something new from you uh about the way that you're uh trying to be your authentic self and that you're at the top of your game.
• 31:10
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And and I am I'm so grateful for all that you do as an advocate for those with hearing loss, and particularly during uh Men's Health Month, uh the young men that are either facing or have lived with hearing loss and can use sport as a mechanism of building that bond and togetherness.
• 31:28
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Um, and and you know, I'm just grateful that we get the opportunity to sit down every couple years, and I look forward to the next time that we'll do that.
• 31:35
  Dr. Dave Fabry: So thank you, Tyson.
• 31:37
  Tyson Gillies: Hey, I appreciate it.
• 31:38
  Tyson Gillies: I'm learning as I go still.
• 31:40
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Well, you're a great advocate for us, and uh for all of you watching this episode of Starkey Soundbites, um, please again like and subscribe.
• 31:49
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Uh and uh I would encourage you to follow Tyson as he gets ready to go for the uh the Deaf Olympics uh in hockey representing Canada.
• 32:00
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Um and also uh just keep an eye on him because you're you're still you're a guy I love to watch.
• 32:05
  Dr. Dave Fabry: I follow you on social media, and um, and again, thank you very much for sharing this information and your knowledge and your experience with us today.
• 32:14
  Tyson Gillies: Hey, always a pleasure to be here.
• 32:15
  Tyson Gillies: Thank you for having me.
• 32:16
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Great.
• 32:17
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Enjoy Formula One this weekend.
• 32:18
  Dr. Dave Fabry: Thanks, and we'll see you again soon.
• 32:20
  Dr. Dave Fabry: And thanks for listening to Sound Bites to our audience.