The recent Newsweek hearing-loss cover story (“A Little Bit Louder, Please”) was the biggest, most complete and most prominent coverage of this vital issue in the 21st century so far. With nearly half the story devoted to the many simple steps people can take to prevent hearing loss now and in the future, Newsweek actually made the deadly dull topic of prevention interesting — a near-impossible feat.
Trust me, I know. When prevention works, nothing happens — there is simply no news to report. One of my day jobs is Chief Marketing Officer of Outside The Classroom, Inc., developer of AlcoholEdu, a hugely popular online prevention program that has been taken by more than a quarter million college and high school students over the past three years. Sure, the media run plenty of headlines when young people kill themselve binge drinking. But when prevention works, how often do you see a headline that says, “Student Lives After Deciding Not To Drink 21 Shots On 21st Birthday”? About as often as you see a headline that says, “Aging Baby Boomer Uses Earplugs: Hearing Still Fine.”
So in addition to its other merits, the Newsweek story is especially valuable because it makes an airtight case for prevention, and does it in such an interesting and readable way. Which brings me to the topic of this post. An ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure, and 50 cents for a pair of earplugs is well worth the $50,000 you will save when you don’t need a cochlear implant later in life. And if you spend a little more for a pair of high-tech earplugs, you might even enjoy wearing them.
I’m talking about Sonocustom earplugs from Sonomax Hearing Healthcare in Canada. Touted as “the gatekeeper between sounds and eardrums,” the Sonomax earplugs are made from a proprietary material that is easy to fit for a perfect seal but which also integrates an acoustic filter that lets an appropriate level of sound into the ear while blocking excess sound that could damage hearing. The plugs can also accommodate digital electronics, providing a platform for joint efforts with other hearing-aid and hearing-assistance technology vendors, such as the collaboration on a Bluetooth-based product with Gennum Corp. that I wrote about recently. So impressive is the technology built into the Sonomax earplugs that they won the overall British Safety Industry Federation Innovation Award this past week at the annual trade fair sponsored by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in Birmingham, England. I have no idea how big a deal that particular award may be, but it sure sounds impressive. Knowing how safety-conscious European countries are compared to their North American counterparts, I have no doubt the Sonomax earplugs beat out some pretty impressive competition. So, whether you go the high-tech road or choose the 50-cent solution, take Newsweek’s advice and get yourself some earplugs. Now!