Vint Cerf and BHI Address Untreated Hearing Loss
Editor: We all know
that untreated hearing loss is a real problem for millions of Americans, and
that many people deny their hearing loss for years before doing something
about it. Better Hearing Institute (BHI) and Vint Cerf have produced a video
to address the issue. You can download it at www.betterhearing.org, but note
that it isn't captioned. Those who need captions might choose to watch for
it on their local PBS station.
Here's the press release.
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Vinton Cerf, a computer pioneer who is now Google's Vice President and
Chief Internet Evangelist, urges viewers to stop ignoring hearing problems
in a Better Hearing Institute documentary that will be aired on public
television affiliate stations beginning in August, 2006. Dr. Cerf, who has
worn hearing aids since the age of 13, is participating in an ongoing
campaign by the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) to educate Americans about
hearing loss and new technologically sophisticated solutions that are
available to address it.
The PBS program, "Spotlight on Hearing Loss", was recently made available
for showing to 348 public television affiliate stations around the country
as part of the popular "Spotlight On" series with a successful 16 year
history on National Public Television. The hearing loss segment is a 9.5
minute program guaranteed a minimum of 500 airings to at least 3 million
public television viewers. It conveys the negative consequences of untreated
hearing loss and shows viewers what they can do about it. The
mini-documentary was made possible by a special grant from Sonion
(Minnetonka, MN), a global supplier to the hearing healthcare industry.
"I have spent much of my life thinking about the potential of
communications technology to transform people's lives," Dr. Cerf says in the
documentary. "Now I'm equally excited about new digital technology that is
transforming the lives of people with hearing problems."
Known as one of the "Fathers of the Internet," when he was a professor at
Stanford University in the early 1970s, Dr. Cerf co-designed the protocols
and architecture that now make it possible to communicate through
cyberspace. He has indicated that, without hearing aids, he would not have
been able to function as productively as he did throughout his long and
successful career.
"We hope the Public Television 'Spotlight On' program will be a wake-up
call to the 25 million Americans who know they have hearing problems but
aren't doing anything about it," states Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D., BHI's
Executive Director. "As a result, they often lose income on the job, have
psychological problems and find that intimate relationships and family life
are disrupted."
To help overcome the widespread resistance to dealing with hearing loss
not to mention misinformation about the hearing healthcare process in
America, the program explains the value of hearing, shows viewers what
happens when they visit a hearing professional as well as how modern digital
hearing aids are fitted and then manufactured.
Dr. Kochkin further states, "The use of Dr. Cerf as a spokesperson for
Better Hearing is of particular significance to people with hearing loss.
Dr. Cerf is a communications pioneer who has contributed world-wide to the
development of the Internet and eMail; and now these are common tools in
modern communication. We are hoping that his involvement in hearing health
will motivate Americans with hearing loss, who have benefited from the
Internet and eMail, to also explore digital technology as a means of
enhancing their ability to hear, listen and communicate."
