If you ask how to improve a presentation, the first suggestion you’d likely receive is “add a graphic or an effect.” As presentation software has improved over the years, the focus on visual elements has eclipsed audio. We’ve been so distracted by cool transition effects that we’ve forgotten to make sure everyone can hear.
On Saturday, October 15 the Listen Trek Team will participate in the Salt Lake Walk4Hearing. It’s a great event that does so much to serve those with hearing loss. More importantly it’s an important opportunity to be a part of eradicating the stigma associated with hearing loss and helping to raise public awareness about the need for prevention, treatment, and regular screenings throughout life.
With more than 30 million Americans suffering from some degree of hearing loss the need for non-profit organizations to provide assistive listening devices to their patrons is greater than ever.
There has been a sort of intriguing dichotomous relationship between our hearing “test gear” and our other “test gear”…you know, the stuff that says TEF and HP and Tek on it. There is perhaps a greater dichotomy between those two, together, and the modeling software that’s supposed to make it possible for our hearing apparatus to do its job most proficiently in a way that relates to the outer world.
The American Medical Association reported in August of this year that hearing loss in teens is on the rise. One in five teens is showing some degree of hearing loss according to a new study. This is about 30% from previous reports. With all the education and all the resources available, this is disheartening news.
It is a common misnomer that adding audio to a room will make others in the room hear “better”. While the sound pressure level (SPL) is increased, it does not necessarily make the audio more intelligible especially the human voice and a live microphone. In the past few years, companies have invested heavily in research and development to make the learning environment audibly better. Often times, the nemesis of an intelligible environment are feedback and reverberation. I want to touch on a few items of focus that will make the audio learning experience more enjoyable and give you a few challenges/techniques for improving intelligibility within your room.
Ambassador for Hear the World: Take That, photographed by Bryan Adams holding the Hear the Worldpose – with one hand cupped behind their ear to convey conscious hearing.
I admit it, I never had my hearing checked until a few weeks ago. That’s kinda ironic for a guy who provides assistive listening solutions! It wasn’t a surprise to me that I have significant hearing loss in my left ear and some age related hearing loss on my right side. Like most people, I wasn’t that interested in using hearing aids. My “perception” was that they are for “old” people. Of course, now that I’m 55 years old, my definition of “old” keeps changing…. None the less, it’s just not that exciting to think about wearing hearing aids.
A distressing number of young people in the United States already have some evidence of hearing loss, a new study found.
On Saturday I attended the Kickoff Event for the Salt Lake City Walk4Hearing™ and I am so glad I did. The Walk4Hearing is the Hearing Loss Association of America’s largest awareness and fundraising event held in cities across the United States.
