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As we all grow older, little signs of aging start creeping up on us. Its starts subtly, with minor aches and pains and gradually our senses of sight and hearing begin to fail us. Just because you are facing poor vision or hearing loss does not mean you have to sit back and accept it. Today’s technology makes it possible for each and every one of us to hear and at a price they can afford. Be proactive and take back your life.

Some of us don’t even realize how often we ask our loved ones to repeat themselves. Others are constantly being politely asked to turn down the volume on the television. Does this sound like anyone you know? If so, don’t let hearing loss ruin your life by making you feel old before your time. Start searching today for the product that best helps to enhance your hearing ability.

I know for some of my friends the thought of everyone being able to see that their hearing was declining was a bit unsettling. But with the advancements in today’s technology, some custom fit hearing devices are so tiny that they are invisible to the outside world. Gone are the clunky, cumbersome versions that hang over your ears. You would be amazed to see what a difference there can be in your life just by improving your hearing ability. You will be able to participate in conversations you once sat out of and will start feeling ten years younger again.

Hearing loss is a hidden disability. As such it doesn’t get the political and financial support that more obvious handicaps receive from government and private organizations. Hearing loss is the number one disability in the world as well as the number one birth defect among infants . . . and yet, nothing has really been done about it.

Blind children learn to read Braille and graduate from high school at the same reading levels as their sighted peers. Deaf children even with help of American Sign Language generally graduate at the fourth grade level.

What starts out as a hearing problem is really a communication problem. If you’ve never heard, you don’t know what words sound like, so you can’t speak. If you can’t speak, you can’t hear, you can’t read, and can’t write, how can you communicate? How can you get a job? The answer is they don’t.

Combine the birth defects problem with hearing loss from a noisy world and the loss of hearing as we grow older and you have a major problem. Even if a problem is hidden, it’s still a problem. And it won’t go away.

When severely hearing handicapped Clover Park Rotarian Gene Pankey learned about research underway to restore hearing by re-growing inner ear hair cells, he put into action what today is known as Rotarians for Hearing Regeneration (RfHR: www.hearingregeneration.org). What better way to tackle a world-wide problem than to address a world-wide organization? Several decades ago Rotary began working for the elimination of Polio. Today that goal is just about realized.

Handicapped since a childhood by total hearing loss in one ear, Pankey suffered hearing loss episodes in his good ear. That brought him into the realm of those involved with research underway at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Research has discovered that birds spontaneously re-grow inner ear hair cells, thus restoring their hearing. That research has provided a dawning of Rotarian involvement. The small group of Rotarians decided to try helping researchers by educating Rotarians and others about the possibilities of restoring hearing in mammals by regenerating hair cells. The thinking is, “If birds can do it, why can’t we?”

Pankey, Rotary District 5020 Past District Governor Dave Sclair, and Dr. David Cotant, also a Clover Park Rotarian, formed today’s RfHR and set about trying to educate Rotarians and help raise 20 million dollars to support the research program.

Education efforts have included a PowerPoint show, an 11-minute video, brochures, and making numerous presentations to clubs, conferences, and a booth at the 100th anniversary Rotary convention in Chicago.

Today, RfHR has members all over the United States and several other countries. Approximately 2,000 copies of the video – Hope For Hearing Loss: The Hearing Regeneration Initiative – have been distributed. An updated version of the video is in the works. Fundraising has continued without interruption and more efforts are planned.

RfHR has joined forces with the Hard of Hearing Hall of Fame (www.hardofhearinghalloffame.com), which is dedicated to recognizing achievement from the hearing impaired and educating people about hearing loss, thereby reducing hearing problems.

Research funds are still far from the overall goal, but all donations help. 2006 saw matching funds cover half a million dollars, and in 2007 there are matching funds available for the first million donated. RfHR hopes its publicity and education campaigns result in adequate funding that allows research to move ahead quickly. Hearing loss should not be hidden. By recognizing it, we may soon unlock the secrets of hearing loss and hearing restoration.

On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your tinnitus? If you rated it higher than a five, then it’s most likely that the constant ringing in the ears is interfering with your happiness, your life, and your well being.

Occurrences of tinnitus are on the rise and noise induced tinnitus seems to be the one making the most headlines, due to the expressed concern over iPods and other music related sound systems. There still seems to be quite a lack of awareness out there about the dangers of noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus.

You don’t have to look far to find evidence of that. Just walk into your nearest movie theatre and feel the noise decibels penetrate your entire body. The audio levels are very often so unnecessarily loud that it borders on noise pollution! I actually wear ear plugs when I go see movies. Most people don’t have a problem with the volume though. Well, at least not until they wake up one day with chronic tinnitus.

Though I am a huge advocate of live music, mainly because that’s what I do for a living, I’m still dismayed to see concert goers hanging out right beside the speakers! There are no warning signs that indicate “danger, close a proximity to these devices may cause hearing loss or tinnitus.” Maybe there should be a law that obliges festivals, clubs, and venue owners to promote awareness against temporary or permanent hearing loss and tinnitus caused by exposure to loud noise.

There is no cure for tinnitus. And, most insurance companies still do not recognize tinnitus as a debilitating condition and therefore will not cover medical expenses or loss of income caused by chronic suffering. However, tinnitus is often severe enough for many sufferers to seek medical attention. And, as most tinnitus patients will tell you, it is a long road ahead for anyone looking for relief from tinnitus symptoms. Finding relief can be an expensive journey. Many are spending anywhere from $100/month on anti-depressants to $2,500.00 for tinnitus retraining therapy. In many cases, patients will spend thousands more on anyone or anything that will give them promise of relief.

There has been continuous research both in the medical and scientific fields for a cure. However, I wonder how difficult it must be to compete for funding in the face of other epidemics like bird flu, aids, and rising cancer rates. How many people must suffer from tinnitus before the pharmaceutical companies spend large budgets on research? Any search on Google will reveal that millions are already suffering from tinnitus and this is a real serious global medical problem.

But, the biggest question still remains; why are we not doing more to create awareness about noise induced tinnitus? We are a socially responsible society, are we not? We properly label cigarettes, trans fat products, age-appropriate toys, movies, games and dangerous goods. It seems to me that the next step may be to lobby manufacturers to put warning labels on their audio systems and make the event producers give clear warnings at their loud events. These notices could read something like, “loud noise exposure can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss and tinnitus.”

Exactly how long will the insurance companies, manufacturers, event producers and government officials try to ignore this growing world wide epidemic? Exactly how long will it be before this collective pool of millions of people get together to affect corporate change and ask for warning labels on loud noise producing products? How long will it be before the insurance companies recognize tinnitus as a medical issue? How long will it be before the message goes out loud and clear?