Recently my daughter was practicing a piano piece to perform at a talent show. Instead of playing on a regular piano however, she was playing on a portable electronic keyboard that she was going to have to take to the performance. She had become frustrated because when she pressed the keys some of the notes sounded distorted. She did not completely understand why, but explained to me that she had figured out how to fix the problem by connecting an external amplifier to the keyboard instead of using the internal speakers.

I asked her if she had been turning the volume up all the way when she was playing. She said she had regularly maximized the volume in the past because it sounded better. I went on to explain to her that by doing so, at some point the excessive energy going through the system had blown one or more of the speakers. She gave me a quizzical look and asked what I meant. I explained to her a little about how speakers work and how turning the volume up too loud can destroy the speaker’s ability to produce the correct sound. I told her that in my younger years it was common for speakers in cars, stereos or televisions to be “blown out” from teenagers turning the volume up too loud.

I then related a story to her about a patient who had come in to get her hearing tested at the insistence of her son. It was obvious just by talking to her that she had significant hearing loss, but she denied having any problem with her hearing. After a comprehensive hearing evaluation we determined she had a severe hearing loss and she very reluctantly got hearing aids.

During a follow up visit, she expressed that she was both happy and upset; happy because she could better hear and understand her family and friends, but upset that she could not understand the television. I suggested that the problem may be with the TV speakers (because I knew how bad her hearing was and the only way she would have been able to hear the TV without hearing aids would be to turn up the volume full blast.)

She left the appointment upset, thinking that there was no way there was anything wrong with the television speakers. At the next appointment she said her son had confirmed the speaker on the television was blown out. She admitted she had been maximizing the volume every time she watched (yet even as she did so she didn’t think she had a hearing problem!) After getting a new television, she was finally happy she could hear the TV, but not so happy to have to buy a new one.

This is just one example of something being damaged because of untreated hearing loss. In addition to blown speakers, I have also witnessed countless relationships that have been damaged due to miscommunication that could have been avoided by using hearing aids. I have also seen the physical and mental destruction of cognitive decline and dementia related to untreated hearing loss. Treating hearing loss helps. Treating it sooner rather than later is most effective and minimizes long term damage.