Rare footage of Helen Keller speaking

with the help of Anne Sullivan. Amazing. What an inspiration.

Do You Have Hearing Loss?

Answering "YES" to any of the following questions should be reason enough to have your hearing evaluated by an audiologist:

Do you have trouble understanding conversation in noisy environments?

Do you notice that you can "hear" but cannot always "understand" what others are saying?

Do you remain quiet in conversations for fear of responding improperly?

Do you often ask others to repeat themselves?

Do you avoid certain social activities because you cannot hear well?

Do you strain to hear soft-sounding voices such as those of women and children?

Do your friends and family members complain that the television volume is too loud?

Do you have a problem hearing on the telephone?

Did you know?

Research has shown that adults with moderate kidney disease have a higher likelihood of hearing loss than their peers without kidney problems.

March is National Kidney Month

We encourage anyone with kidney disease to make hearing checks a routine part of your ongoing care.  With earlier and more frequent evaluations, hearing loss can be addressed and your quality of life can be greatly improved.

For more information, visit Healthy Hearing's Website HERE.

Educational Seminar

We're hosting an educational seminar near our Bowling Green and Wauseon locations in mid-March.  (We're holding off on the Toledo region until our construction is completed. One project at a time people!)

We invite you to join us for lunch:

SATURDAY, MARCH 16 11:30 to 1:30 in WAUSEON

Fulton County Health Center, Conference Facility

725 S Shoop Ave, Wauseon

MONDAY, MARCH 18 - 11:30 TO 1:30 IN BOWLING GREEN

Wood County Hospital, meeting rooms near ER entrance

950 W Wooster, Bowling Green

PLEASE! Save your spot!
RSVP to 419-464-9265

so we have enough lunch to feed everyone who shows up!

"Hear What You've Been Missing" will be presented by Doctor of Audiology, David Lisko, who is the Midwest Clinical Trainer for Oticon Corp.  Come and learn how hearing loss can affect your life and about new developments in hearing care and communication strategies for you and your loved one.

Hearing Loss = Less Pay?

According to a recent national study completed by the Better Hearing Institute - "Impact of Hearing Loss on Household Income" - Americans with unaddressed hearing loss make less money than people with normal hearing. The study found that wearing a hearing aid reduced the amount of income lost.  Specifically, untreated hearing loss negatively affects household income, on-average, by nearly $23,000 per year depending on the degree of hearing loss.  The use of hearing aids mitigates those negative effects by about 50 percent.

Two Ears ARE Better than One

Being able to hear with both ears is just as important as being able to see with both eyes. If you have difficulty hearing with both ears, you will almost certainly benefit from a binaural fitting - that is, wearing a hearing instrument in each ear.

The most important benefits of wearing two hearing instruments are:

• your ability to localize sounds will improve
• it will be easier to understand speech in noisy surroundings
• the risk of "auditory deprivation" is considerably reduced
• you will experience a fuller, more comfortable sound

Why do people have 2 ears? Because the brain needs input from both ears to tell us which direction sounds are coming from. Think about a car honking its horn, for example. Our ears alert us to the danger, sending sound signals to the brain. Within a split second the brain compares the information received from both ears - such as the power and intensity of the sound wave, and how long it to reach each ear. This tells us instantly which direction the care is coming from, and how far away it is.

Background noise makes it difficult to follow what people are saying. For people who don't hear equally well with both ears, it suddenly becomes much harder to separate individual voices from background noise. The brain needs input from both ears in order to separate sounds effectively.

Another risk that is significantly reduced by wearing two hearing aids is the risk of auditory deprivation. This is when the brain gradually loses some of its ability to process information from the unaided ear because of a continued lack of sound stimulation. Auditory deprivation most often occurs when the ear goes unaided over a long period of time - so the earlier you consider wearing two hearing instruments, the better your chances are of minimizing this risk.

If you hear equally well with both ears, sounds are more comfortable to listen to. You don't have to strain to hear, and sounds have the kind of clarity and depth which give you a sense of space and volume. Imagine listening to your favorite program on the stereo. It has two amplifiers and two speakers, to give music and speech a natural depth. However, if only one amplifier and speaker is working, the sounds become shallow and flat.

Holidays and Hearing Loss: how to help your loved ones

I guess we are officially smack in the middle of the holiday season, right? This is a great time to encourage your loved ones to take control of their hearing problems.

Hearing loss is one of the most common health conditions that people ignore, and yet it is one of the more simple to help.  Affecting more than 31.5 million Americans, I am certain someone you love is affected.  Left untreated, hearing loss can lead to depression and feelings of isolation - feelings that are often more prevalent this time of year as it is.

"The holiday season is meant to be a time of thanks, celebration, and joy," says Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Better Hearing Institute. "But for many people, it is a time of year when unaddressed hearing loss can cause them to feel particularly isolated and depressed. Even when surrounded by loved ones, a family member's impaired ability to hear and actively participate in conversation cuts them off. Oftentimes, they are left with a sense of sadness, inadequacy, and emotional isolation. This is especially true when the hearing loss is either unrecognized or is being 'hidden' by the family member with hearing loss."

Keep a close look on loved ones who you have suspected might have some hearing loss in the past. Help keep them included in your holiday conversations, but also encourage them to start taking the steps toward better hearing.

"When a family member experiences unaddressed hearing loss, it silently erodes the loved one's quality of life—undermining family relationships, interfering with short-term memory, and creeping into virtually every aspect of daily living," says Kochkin. "The good news is there are solutions to help loved ones with hearing loss regain the gift of sound so they don't need to draw back in silence. Hearing loss can be easily diagnosed, and there are modern-day solutions that can help people hear better."

Hearing Loss Simulation: the Flinstones

I just found this video on YouTube. Watch it! (and listen) As the Flinstones and the Rubbles go one playing their boardgame and talking, the audio is changed to simulate how one would be hearing the conversation with various degrees of hearing loss.

How can I tell if I'm losing my hearing?

One morning, you're sitting in a small office, having a very nice conversation with a co-worker. You're functioning fine. You have no problems hearing or understanding Dan tell you about his son's first soccer game and his mom's recent health problems.

That evening, you're in a busy restaurant with your entire family celebrating Grandma's 83rd birthday. Someone at the table tells a joke. Well, you assume it's a joke because everyone else is laughing, but truthfully you didn't hear everything that was said so you just laugh anyway.

So what's going on?

----

This experience is typical of someone whose hearing is starting to decline. Hearing loss most often happens so slowly, so gradually, that we don't actually realize it is happening. And it's very hard to really know if you aren't hearing as well as you used to.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you asking friends and family to repeat themselves?
• Do you have difficulty understanding people on the telephone or on TV?
• Is it hard to follow conversations in noisy places like restaurants?
• Do you feel like people often mumble or just don't speak as clearly as they used to?
• Are loved ones getting frustrated because they feel you do not understand them?

Hearing loss is not "all-or-none." We often think that if someone has hearing loss, they have trouble hearing everything. Very commonly, people lose the hearing of higher-frequencies (pitches) first, while their low-frequency hearing might still be fine. This makes people feel like they can hear fine, but people are just mumbling.

The first step for anyone who even just thinks they might be experiencing some hearing loss is to have a hearing evaluation.  Having a full diagnostic test by an audiologist will help you determine why you are experiencing the problems you have been more aware of recently.  Your audiologist will then make recommendations to you - from annual hearing tests to monitor your loss, to a referral to a physician and maybe even hearing aids. But don't be afraid, we don't know what you need (if anything) until we know what is going on.

Boomers benefit from hearing aids as they stay in the workforce longer

(ARA) - Let’s face it. The Great Recession put a kink in many American’s retirement plans. Combine that financial blow with the general uncertainty regarding Medicare and the future cost of private health insurance.

As a result, more boomers are staying in the workforce longer. In fact, between 2006 and 2016 the number of older people in the workforce is expected to soar, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Workers between the ages of 55 and 64 are expected to increase by 36.5 percent; the number of workers between 65 and 74 is expected to climb by 83.4 percent, and even the number of workers who are 75 and older is expected to grow by 84.3 percent. By 2016, the BLS says, workers age 65 and over are expected to make up 6.1 percent of the total labor force—a steep jump from their 3.6 percent share in 2006.

So what does this mean for individuals? It means people need to do what they can to age productively. It means they need to take charge of their health - including their hearing health - so they can maximize their chances for success on the job. Along with maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it’s important that boomers routinely get their hearing checked - and that they address any hearing loss so it doesn’t undermine their efforts on the job or their quality of life.

Gone are the days of ignoring hearing difficulties. There are no more excuses. And given the technological advances of modern hearing aids, and the compelling data that illustrate the downside of leaving hearing loss unaddressed, there’s only one reasonable course of action. Maturing workers should be getting their hearing checked. And if there is hearing loss, they should discuss with their hearing healthcare provider whether or not hearing aids could help.

Consider this: More than 34 million Americans suffer from hearing loss - about 11 percent of the U.S. population - and 60 percent of them are below retirement age, according to the Better Hearing Institute (www.betterhearing.org). Research shows that the use of hearing aids reduces the risk of income loss by 90 to 100 percent for those with milder hearing loss, and from 65 to 77 percent for those with severe to moderate hearing loss. Those with moderate-to-severe hearing loss who use hearing aids are twice as likely to be employed as their peers who do not use hearing aids. And three out of four hearing aid users report improvements in their quality of life due to wearing hearing aids. The vast majority of people with hearing loss, in fact, could benefit from hearing aids.

More good news: Today’s employers recognize the changing demographics of the modern aging workforce and increasingly are making efforts to hold onto their older workers. Employers value the experience that mature employees bring to the job - along with the strong work ethic and other positive attributes that older workers tend to possess.

More and more companies, in fact, engage in workplace wellness programs to help keep their employees in good health. And hearing health - including hearing checks - is increasingly included in  these programs.

“Never before has good hearing been so important - or so attainable,” says Dr. Sergei Kochkin, Executive Director of the Better Hearing Institute. “When people with even mild hearing loss use hearing aids, they improve their job performance, increase their earning potential, enhance their communication skills, improve their professional and interpersonal relationships, and stave off depression.

“I urge anyone planning to stay in the workforce longer to take that first, most critical step to optimizing your hearing health and enhancing your chances for career success by taking a confidential, online hearing check at www.hearingcheck.org. It will help you determine if you may need a more thorough hearing test by a hearing health professional,” Kochkin continues. “Your hearing health and continued job success are within your control.”

Information from the Better Hearing Institute, www.betterhearing.org

Curtis Pride, deaf major league baseball player, was cited by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce as of one of ten outstanding young Americans. Mr. Pride shared his "overcoming hearing loss" story in a number of public service announcements for BHI. "It was my most exciting moment-pinch-hitting for the Montreal Expos with runners on first and second base against the Philadelphia Phillies. I hit the first pitch for a two-run double, and received my first standing ovation. I was overwhelmed as I stood on second and saw all those people cheering. I've come a long way since being born with a 95% hearing loss. Major reasons were my exceptionally supportive parents, being first fitted with hearing aids as a baby, getting speech therapy from infancy through high school, and my determination to rely on oral communication. Such blessings helped me obtain my degree from The College of William and Mary, as well as excel in soccer, basketball, baseball and other sports. People wanted me on their team. My hope is that others will be encouraged by my experience to seek help-medically, with hearing aids, or other rehabilitation- if they suspect a hearing loss." Curtis is the fourth known deaf major league baseball player in history. There were three deaf ball players prior to Curtis Pride. 1) Dummy Hoy (he was the first) back in the 1800's. He was the person who instigated the hand signals for balls, strikes, safe, out, etc. 2) Dummy Taylor (who also worked at the Illinois School for the Deaf) played ball in the early 1900s and 3) Richard Sipek, played in mid 1940's for Cincinnati Reds.


Information obtained from the Better Hearing Insitute: www.betterhearing.org

Commone Myths about Hearing Loss

1. My hearing loss cannot be helped.

In the past, many people with hearing loss in one ear, with a high frequency hearing loss, or with nerve damage have all been told they cannot be helped, often by their family practice physician. This might have been true many years ago, but with modern advances in technology, nearly 95% of people with a sensorineural (nerve) hearing loss CAN be helped with hearing aids.

2. My hearing loss is normal for my age.

Isn't this a strange way to look at things? But do you realize that well-meaning doctors tell this to their patients every day? It happens to be "normal" for overweight people to have high blood pressure, but that doesn't mean they should not receive treatment for the problem.  Yes, hearing loss can be common as we age, but it shouldn't be ignored.

3. Hearing aids will make me look older and handicapped.

Looking older is clearly more affected by almost all other factors besides hearing aids. It is not the hearing aids that make one look older, it is what one may believe they imply.  If hearing aids help you function like a normal hearing person, for all intents and purposes, the stigma is removed.  Hearing aid manufacturers are well aware that cosmetics is an issue to many people, and that's why today we have hearing aids that are extremely tiny, and some that fit totally in the ear canal.  But more importantly, keep in mind that "a hearing loss is more obvious than a hearing aid." Smiling and nodding your head when you don't understand what's being said makes your condition more apparent than the largest hearing aid.

Information obtained from The Better Hearing Institute

Statistics on Noise Induced Hearing Loss

• More than 30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous sound levels on a regular basis. (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

• Of the 28 million Americans who have hearing loss, over one-third have been affected at least in part by noise. (ASHA)

• Excessive noise exposure is the most common cause of hearing loss. (American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery)

• Audiology experts agree that hearing loss in the United States is increasing. The number of Americans age 3 and older with some form of hearing disorder has more than doubled since 1971. (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

• Noise-induced hearing loss affects people of all ages. U.S. government survey data revealed that 12.5% of children ages 6 to 19 (approximately 5.2 million children) have permanent damage to their ears' hair cells caused by exposure to loud noises. In addition 15.5% of children ages 12 to 19 had some hearing loss in one or both ears, highlighting the fact that noise-induced hearing loss grows more prevalent with age. (Niskar, 2001)

• Noise-induced hearing loss is also growing among baby boomers. Of the more than 75 million Americans born between 1945 and 1964, 20.4% or 16 million people have some degree of hearing loss. (National Center for Health Statistics)

The Important Stuff

Getting a hearing aid just might be included on the list of "important stuff" to do.

from Hearing Loss Magazine. Written by Penny Allen who lives in Port Orchard, Washington and is president of the Hearing Loss Association of Washington and editor of "Sound Waves," the state association newsletter. She wears a hearing aid and has a cochlear implant.

Desperate people frequently ask my why their parents of spouses won't "do something" about their hearing loss. You'd think I would know. 

What I do know is that people with untreated hearing loss are usually oblivious to what a burden they become to their families. And most families living with someone with untreated hearing loss don't grasp its seriousness. It's either "his problem" or "her problem," but rarely is it "our problem." Yet this apathy takes its toll. Communication barriers trigger psychological stress, confusion, anger, frustration, resentment, helplessness, etc. But it happens to the entire family! 

The longer someone puts off getting a hearing evaluation, the less likely getting hearing aids is going to happen. There are lists of reasons why people don't get hearing aids - fear, vanity, expense, misinformation - any of which might seem justified. But just as the person with a hearing loss adapts, so does the family. They become grudging enablers, taking charge and eventually easing him or her out of the picture for lack of involvement. Its' called marginalization, and it's inevitable. It's much like a family comping with an alcoholic family member who refuses treatment - life goes on. 

I grew up in such a family, and it was my father who refused help. We yelled a lot - at leas, we yelled at him. And hue usually yelled back because he was irritated we yelled at him. Watching TV was not about togetherness. The volume was so loud the rest of us scattered. Conversations were generally one-sided - if father's. If we got the chance to say something, we often had to repeat it even louder. Eventually we tired of the effort. But, ironically, we never discussed the elephant in the room, He was the father, after all. 

After my own hearing loss was diagnosed at the age of 40, I had an "AHA!" moment. I was sure I could convince my father of the merits of hearing aids. I couldn't. Over the years, he just sort of slipped away from me bit by bit. We had necessary talk but no small talk - the stuff that keeps you connected. He was preoccupied with solitary hobbies and had little contact with his children and grandchildren. I suspect we were all a bit lonely for the father and grandfather we should have had. 

Hearing loss requires attention - whether you are the person with the hearing loss of the family member who resides with it. Do something about it, and don't dally. Otherwise, you'll miss the important stuff. But the saddest part is you won't be the only one. 

Tips to Avoid Hearing Loss

From Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Everyone has done it: You need some momentum on the treadmill, so you crank up your iPod. Or you turn up your car stereo when you drive by a loud construction site or your favorite song comes on and then forget to turn it back down. It might sound obvious but exposing yourself to loud noises for a prolonged period of time may irreversibly damage your hearing. Your body can hear thanks to hair cells inside your ears that transform sound energy into electrical signals. Those signals get sent to your brain. Excessive sound energy damages those hair cells, eventually causing them to die. Our bodies don't regenerate new hair cells and the louder the noise, the more damage that can be done to them.

Here are a few tips to keep your hearing sharp.

TURN IT DOWN At maximum volume, the average MP3 player blares at an ear-splitting115 decibels. Compare that to the noise a power saw makes at about 110 decibels. The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery says it only takes 100 decibels of sound for
15 minutes to cause permanent hearing damage. If someone an arm's length away can hear what is coming through your headphones, turn the volume down by at least 30 percent. You can also adjust the volume settings on your computer to 60 percent.

CANCEL OUT THE NOISE If you need to use headphones, noise-canceling headphones are a better option. When you block out background noise, it's easier to focus on what you're listening to. You'll find yourself turning up the volume a lot less. Background noise isn't something people often pay attention to, but a person's risk for hearing loss increases depending on how much background noise they are exposed to.

TAKE A BREAK How long you spend listening to a loud noise may also affect your hearing. Continually listening to loud music or being in a loud environment without ear protection for several hours may increase your risk of damage. Give your ears a break: wear ear protection or ear plugs, try to retreat to a quieter location for a few minutes every hour, and pause your music at least once every 90 minutes.

The main point to remember is that loud noise from any source, whether it's your car stereo or a power tool, for a prolonged period of time, will degenerate your hearing.

A new reason for hearing loss: Motorcycle Helmets

While we won't advocate not wearing your motorcycle helmet because of this, recent studies have found that they may be contributing to hearing loss.

While the roar of a motorcycle engine is loud, after scientists mapped the airflow over the riders' helmets, it was found that the biggest source of noise for motorcyclists is actually generated by AIR!  That air whooshing over the riders' heads can exceed safe levels even at legal speeds.

Now, scientists have identified a key source of the rushing din. Researchers from the University of Bath and Bath Spa University placed motorcycle helmets atop mannequin heads, mounted them in a wind tunnel and turned on the fans. By placing microphones at different locations aruond the helmet and at the mannequins' ear, the researchers found that an area underneath the helmet and near the chin bar is a significant sourse of noise that reaches the rider's sensitive eardrums. 

The team also investigated how helmet angle and wind speech affected the ludness. Future tests will move beyond the wind tunnel to real-life riders on the open road...findings may one day be used to design quieter helmets, saving riders' ears for the enjoyment of hard biker rock.  :)

So, while Kenwood is in the business of ears and hearing, we find it important to share this information with you - however we still choose protecting the brain with that helmet for now!

Source: The American Institute of Physics

Hearing Loss and Depression

from Healthy Hearing

Hearing professionals have long believed that there's a relationship between hearing loss and the onset or worsening of depression in some of their patients. A recent study from Australia indicates there may be an increased risk of the life-sapping effects of depression among those who have experienced hearing loss, or seen their hearing loss worsen.

"When left untreated, hearing loss often leads to isolation, depression, and other emotional conditions that can affect both mental health and quality of life," says Sergei Kochkin, PhD, executive director of The Better Hearing Institute. "Yet, hearing loss remains one of the most commonly unaddressed health conditions in America today."

It's Lonely in There

Even people with mild hearing loss begin to experience increasing levels of isolation. As the world fades to a muffle, those with more severe degrees of hearing loss experience even greater degrees of isolation according to the Australian report.

Once-engaged individuals withdraw. The stigma of hearing loss and the choice to not use hearing aids prevents these social people from getting out, seeing friends or even enjoying a nice dinner.

Depression and hearing loss often create a downward spiral. Isolation leads to depression which, in turn, leads to more isolation and so on until the depression is debilitating. Severely depressed people live life day to day. They're less focused, less productive, less engaged in the world and, simply, people with severe depression are unable to enjoy all that life has to offer.

Hearing Loss and the Family

Untreated hearing loss affects not only the individual but the entire family

The psychological effects of hearing loss aren't limited to the person experiencing loss of hearing.

Far from it.

The residual effects of hearing loss spread to all members of the household, to friends, co-workers – the individual's entire "social network." Things just aren't the same when friends have to shout to be heard or have to repeat everything they say. Sometimes twice!

So, many with hearing loss withdraw. They pull back from supportive family members who are "only trying to help." They don't answer the telephone because they can't hear the speaker. Another social outing missed, perhaps.

Hearing loss affects both individuals and their friends and family. It's a stress factor for all, adding strain to even the best, most stable relationships.

Are You Ready For Solutions?

Sure, we all know about hearing aids but not many of us know about hearing aid technology.

Today's hearing aids are low-profile (or totally, tricked-out), they're automated, they provide grade-A sound, they're comfortable to wear and, face it, they put you back in the game.

These are NOT your grand-dad's hearing aids. Hearing aids, today, are tuned by a professional on computer software to address specific hearing loss. They're available in wireless so your hearing aids become receivers for all wireless communications and, voila, you're connected by cell phone again. Linkage is always nice.

If, in fact, you have experienced hearing loss (no one knows better than you) and you feel isolated from family, friends and the TV, are you depressed? Do you spend more and more time "inside" yourself and less and less time engaging life – the external world?

10 simple questions:

• Do you avoid talking on the phone? Let the machine get it?
• Have you had trouble hearing in large, open spaces?
• Do you have trouble hearing in loud restaurants? Do you avoid eating out as a result?
• Do others complain about the loudness of the TV?
• Do you have trouble hearing co-workers on the job?
• Do you still enjoy music the way you once did?
• Do you miss the sounds of life, from birds in the trees to a soft whisper from a loved one?
• Do you become more depressed when hearing loss causes a "problem?"
• Do you think there's a stigma associated with wearing hearing aids?
• Are hearing aids associated with your self-image and self-esteem?

If you answered yes to any of these, you can make things better – and soon. But the first step is yours; the ball is in your court.

If you or a loved one live with untreated hearing loss, call us at 419-534-3111 – and eliminate a common source of stress and depression. You don't have to live with hearing loss anymore.

Matt Lauer of the Today Show has his hearing tested

Did you happen to watch the Today Show this past Wednesday, August 10th?

If you missed it, Matt Lauer had his hearing tested by Lexington Hearing & Speech Center.  He brought much needed attention to a critical health concern that is under-recognized and under-reported.


"In submitting to a hearing test on the air, Mr. Lauer performed a genuine public service that helps bring attention to the growing health crisis of hearing loss in adults under 65," said Adele I. Agin, LCSW, Executive Director, Lexington Hearing & Speech.


"The truth is that younger Americans are losing their hearing at an alarming rate, and recently I found out that that includes me as well," Mr. Lauer said.  Mr. Lauer, 53, reported that although hearing loss is commonly thought to predominantly affect the aged, currently more adults under 65 suffer hearing loss than those over 65.  He was advised by the audiologist conducting his hearing test that his impairment was attributable to the earphone he routinely wears in his right ear as part of his job.  


"Regular earphone and headphone use is the single most common factor leading to hearing loss in adults under 65.  Teenagers and young adults who 'plug in' to listen to music for hours at a time are especially vulnerable, and parents should make sure their children are getting hearing tests as part of their annual health check ups. Testing is covered by most insurance plans, is painless and take only a few minutes," said Lexington's Audiology Director, John Ioannou, MS, CCC-A.  "Hearing loss is irreversible.  Identifying any problem early on will enable appropriate steps to prevent further deterioration and reduce the impact of hearing loss on quality of life."


Kudos to you Mr. Lauer!  Thank you, from this group of audiologists, for bringing this to the attention of all of your viewers!

Energizer recently conducted an "All Ears" survey of 1,065 baby boomers whose spouses suffer from hearing loss. Here's what their survey reveled: 

1. Listen up: Being hard of hearing can cause hard feelings. About half (47.8 percent) of the respondents feel that their marriage has suffered because of their spouse's hearing loss. Nearly seven out of 10 (64.8 percent) respondents feel annoyed when their spouse cannot hear them. In addition, 16.4 percent feel ignored and 8.1 percent feel sad or hurt.

2. Loud talkers: Raised voices become more familiar. More than half (59.8 percent) find themselves in recent years talking louder daily so their spouse can hear them. And 83.4 percent feel that if they talk loud enough, it would help their spouse better understand what they are saying.

3. Sounds like a sandwich: Is it hearing loss, or selective hearing? While 45.3 percent of respondents believe their spouse doesn't hear chore requests, 77.5 percent say their spouse can hear them fix a snack.

4. In denial: Nearly half believe their spouse is in denial about their hearing loss. Of the boomers surveyed, 56.8 percent feel their spouse is reluctant to get his or her hearing checked. Nearly half (46.4 percent) feel that denial is the No. 1 reason their significant other is hesitant to get his or her hearing checked.

5. Time for checkup: Hearing screenings are few and far between. More than a third (35.6 percent) know their spouse hasn't had his or her hearing checked in more than three years. Moreover, 23.4 percent revealed that their spouse has never had his or her hearing checked.

How loud is too loud?