When the president was diagnosed and fitted with digital hearing aids, baby boomers took notice, says Diane DeLisa, assistant professor of clinical audiology at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. It marked a new awareness of the growing problem of hearing loss and the technology developing to help people live with the condition.
Statistics indicate there's reason for concern.
Hearing loss in people ages 40 to 60 is increasing significantly, the Better Hearing Institute says. When the National Council on Aging paired up with the Hearing Industries Association for a new study on the social, psychological and physiological impact of hearing loss, they decided to drop the age of those polled from 65 to 50. Dr. Stephen Epstein, president of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf in Washington, says hearing loss can be caused by viral infections, head injury, heredity or reaction to medication. But for aging baby boomers, the most common cause is noise. Clinton's hearing loss, for example, is attributed to a longtime fondness for loud music.