» Michelle Holland  |  Cut the noise  |  Dr Jean-Pierre Gagné

I can’t read your lips when we are on the phone Press Perspective: 12 October 2009   Toxic noise is pollution, and organisers of the city’s first Hearing Awareness Day hope that asking Christchurch to be quiet for one minute this Wednesday the 14th of October will raise awareness about the dangers of hearing loss. Michelle Holland is a 41 year old businesswoman working in sales and marketing in Christchurch. She has hearing issues due to work-related noise-induced gradual hearing loss. She first discovered problem in 1996 and did what many people do – ignored it. She tried to join the police force but failed police hearing exam in 1998 – she continued to ignore the problem until she was37 years old. She was 16% hearing impaired in 2005 and now is 44% hearing impaired. She hopes by telling her story others will realise the dangers of toxic noise and hearing loss, and that others won’t wait as long as she did to deal with it. I can’t read your lips when we are on the phone. People who are “hearing impaired” (the PC term I still struggle with) are actually magnificent listeners, because they have to concentrate so much on the person speaking. Watching a conversation through gestures and speech-reading and looking for clues to the thread of the story so I could participate in the conversation as if I heard every word that was spoken was my daily focus, because more often than not, I didn’t hear much of the conversion. I went to learn speech-reading when I finally admitted my problem.  I was tested for my ability and scored 96%. I had been speech-reading naturally for years.  The reality is that we can only hear conversations in context.  Give me one word or a number and I will not hear you.  Cover your mouth and I will not hear you. If you have a moustache I will not hear you. Turn your head whilst talking and I will not hear you. Whisper in my ear and I will not hear you. My story is one of denial of a problem, and fear of the future without an ability to communicate - how do I appear attractive to a date when I am saying “what” or “pardon” all the time? How do I market and promote my business when I can’t hear my client’s needs? How do I keep in touch with my friends and family when I can’t use the phone? Toxic noise is noise pollution. Car alarms, emergency service sirens, office equipment, factory machinery, construction work, grounds keeping equipment, barking dogs, appliances, power tools, lighting hum, audio entertainment systems, loudspeakers and noisy people, they all contribute to noise induced hearing loss. Sounds above 115db can cause instant damage. Continued exposure to sounds over 80db can lead to permanent hearing loss. It is a real danger, a silent killer, and we just don’t realise how dangerous, or how much killing is going on. Learning to admit on a daily basis to friends and strangers that you are “hearing impaired,” that you are not the complete person you once were, is not a task for the faint-hearted, but it is better to explain your problem than let others suffer from your disability (oh how I hate that word!) thinking you ignored them. But if you are brave enough to get a hearing test, and then experience the joy of getting some sound back through hearing aids, it is very special. I forgot that birds chirped, and it’s wonderful to hear children laughing and even, phones ringing. When you lose hearing gradually you start forgetting to listen for everyday sounds. Hearing aids are not like reading glasses.  Put on glasses and your eye sight comes back.  Put on hearing aids and the sounds are clearer and louder but the ability to recognise the words may still be blurred somewhat. But hearing aids are getting sexier and smarter.  I believe with the current noise pollution in the world, in the future, hearing aids will become as commonplace as reading glasses.  How many people do you know who complain about not hearing in a room full of people - that is the start of the decline my friends! Having to have hearing aids to assist with my loss was a reality I found hard to accept as hearing loss is associated with aging and disability – it’s easy to go into denial.  The fact is my hearing aid is hardly noticeable these days. I wear my hair in a ponytail and people still don’t see it. There are lots of ways my life is affected. Having to continually ask people to repeat themselves or to have people look at you strangely because you’ve answered them with something irrelevant to the conversation can be embarrassing. During conversations you can either appear intense because you are concentrating on speech reading or conversely uninterested, and possibly not completely up to speed because you missed a vital link in the conversation. Going out into noisy environments, like out for dinner, often left me in a world of my own and unable to join in the social celebration. You can feel isolated and tend to become a hermit, and create reasons for not going out. When you miss a part of a conversation and people know you are hard of hearing you usually make a joke of yourself … I am always calling myself “the deaf old bag” just to defuse my own embarrassment. Once accepting my hearing loss, I found so many advantages to wearing hearing aids. I now enjoy sounds I had forgotten existed, like birds chirping or the sound of rain on the roof. To be able to communicate again brings you back into society, back to work, back to life. Many hearing impaired people suffer from depression because of self-inflicted withdrawal from the world - it doesn’t have to be that way at all The correct hearing aids are very comfortable to wear (incorrect fitting hearing aids are like wearing tight shoes all day .. you cant wait to take them off!).  Keep trying different brands until you get the right ones.  Tip – all hearing aid companies let you free trail their aids for a month – no obligation to purchase.  If you have hearing aids you keep in your drawer instead of your ears please go and get a second opinion on model and brand to best suit you.  You would never throw away the right aid for you. Children are great when you tell them you are hearing impaired – they are fascinated with hearing aids and adapt to your needs easier than adults. No matter how many times you remind someone you are hearing impaired, they will always forget.  Having hearing loss is a little like having a back injury – It affects your ability to perform at 100%, it is tiring, it is scary, it is demanding to manage in the “able-bodied” world, and it is something that is not so visible so people around forget you have the problem, no matter how close you are to the other person. Hearing loss is a strain not only for the individual directly affected, but also for his or her partner and family. They have to live with you not hearing everyday things, or whispered asides, phones ringing, door bells or cries for help from another room. Having to repeat your jokes, funny comments, affectionate quips or worst of all whispered sweet-nothings ruins a relationships spontaneous intimacy.  They say hearing loss needs to be “managed” by the person who has lost hearing and those around them.  It is true and hard work 24/7. We “hearing impaired” thank everyone for their patience... here is a quote I read that sums it up... When you impatiently say 'Never mind'. I shrivel up inside. For I frantically fought to hear what you said. And you don't even know I tried. ENDS

Editor's notes The National Foundation for the Deaf commissioned the survey earlier this year on what noises New Zealanders find most annoying and could be making them ill physically or mentally. The most annoying noises were: ' Boy racers' (car exhausts) Barking dogs Car alarms Snoring Neighbours' stereo noise Neighbours' DIY noise Neighbours' lawnmowers Other people's mobile phones Planes Rubbish trucks Babies crying Body noises including coughing and humming Noise Levels Both the amount of noise and the length of time you are exposed to the noise determine its ability to damage your hearing. Noise levels are measured in decibels (dB). The higher the decibel level, the louder the noise. Sounds louder than 80 decibels are considered potentially hazardous. The noise chart below gives an idea of average decibel levels for everyday sounds around you. Painful 150 dB = rock music peak 140 dB = firearms, air raid siren, jet engine 130 dB = jackhammer 120 dB = jet plane take-off, amplified rock music at 4-6 ft., car stereo, band practice Extremely Loud 110 dB = rock music, model airplane 106 dB = timpani and bass drum rolls 100 dB = snowmobile, chain saw, pneumatic drill 90 dB = lawnmower, shop tools, truck traffic Very Loud 80 dB = alarm clock, busy street 70 dB = busy traffic, vacuum cleaner 60 dB = conversation, dishwasher Moderate 50 dB = moderate rainfall 40 dB = quiet room Faint 30 dB = whisper, quiet library Warning Signs of Hazardous Noise You must raise your voice to be heard You can't hear someone two feet away from you Speech around you sounds muffled or dull after leaving a noise area You have pain or ringing in your ears (tinnitus) after exposure to noise.