One of the problems with hearing loss is that is is associated with old people. As a result, many young and middle aged people won't purchase and use the hearing aids they really need to function in our society. They just aren't sexy.

I recently noticed in several pictures that Paris Hilton appears to be wearing CIC hearing aids. She is clearly the "sex star" of the current period whether you like her or not. If she really has a hearing loss and is wearing aids, it would help the cause if she would "come of the closet" and admit both her hearing loss and the aids she appears to wear. I think it would make hearing aids "in" and remove the stigma they currently have.

Does anybody know it my hypothisis with Ms Hilton is correct?

Paris Hilton does have a hearing loss and , on occassion, wears a CIC mostly in her left ear but sometimes in both ears.

She has had hearing problems for several years probably a result of a very bad middle ear infection when she was 16. Her eardrum ruptured and while it eventually healed, it did so with considerable scar tissue. She also has a moderate high frequency loss that comes from frequent attendence at rock concerts without adequate ear protection.

She is very self consious about her hearing loss and I doubt she will "come out". Her CIC is designed to fit deeply in her ear canal and she has even removed the small string that most people use to remove it.

I used to work in her household and have a hearing problem myself. I too wish she would acknoledge her hearing loss and what she is doing about it. I don't think that will happen but, sooner or later, one of the magazines will get a good picture of her ear with the aid in place.

Who cares whether Paris Hilton is deaf or not!!!

Actually this is a big deal. Those of us that are hearing impaired and have to wear hearing aids have been stimatized for a long time. We are made to feel old before our time and are forced to wonder what people are thinking. I've even had people see my aids and shout at me like I was 94 (I'm 32). If more well known celebs "came out" with their hearing loss, wearing aids would become accepted just like wearing glasses has becomes.

Anon wrote:Who cares whether Paris Hilton is deaf or not!!!

If PH is hearing impaired, one of the best things she could do is help young ppl protect their hearing when attending concerts. Make earplug use...be cool. But most important, let teens know that it's not just an old-folks nightmare, it can happen to youngsters, too.

Another thing she can do is say, "look at me, I,m hearing impaired AND successful in life."

Unfortunately, as many other hard of hearing ppl, she seems to want to hide and deny her hearing loss.

I think the more we talk about this, the more we will make it socially acceptable to wear hearing aids. If Paris would just admit her loss and outline the help she gets from HA's, it would do a great deal, especially for young people, to take care of their loss and get the help they need.

I have a 15 year old daughter who is hearing impaired. Two years ago we purchased 2 BTE's which the audiologist recommended. They work well but she has refused to wear them. This year, in desparation, we bought her 2 CIC's and hoped she would wear them. She won't.

She is clearly having a hard time in school and socially as well. She just can't hear well enough to fuction unless people really speak up.

The thing is hearing aids are not cool and not worn by young people. They are for old people and she wants no part of them.

If Paris Hilton, as a recognized "sex star" would admit to her aids, come out and speak on the subject, it would do wonders for our daughter and many other kids that have a hearing impairment.

It's strange but kids will spend hours a day with their I pods inserted in their ears, but will not wear an aid that would help them. This includes our daughter who loves her I pod (its about the only time she can really hear) but she is still so stuborn with the hearing help she really needs.

I'd like to hear from other moms of hearing impaired kids. I'd also like to know what we might do to make Paris Hilton "come out".

This is nuts. Paris Hilton has perfect hearing in both ears.

Hello everyone,

Reading the above postings, the way I look at it, it's also a question of that if more stars come out and get more involved in the different science and technology developments, it could help speed up its progress.

We hear about celebrities getting involved with different charities and causes. Why don't more with hearing problems do the same with hearing-loss related causes ?

For instance, why don't they help raise more money or awareness for the work on hair cell regeneration and such related research ?

Depite the comment by someone who claims to be an agent of PH, she does have a hearing problem. It's nothing for her to be ashamed of and the CIC aids she sometimes wears are almost invisible. What she probably doesn't realize is that when she isn't wearing her aids others are very aware that her hearing is not at normal levels.

I have a hearing loss.. i am 21 and i lost it do to being put into a pear oxygen tank because i was a month or so early.. i lost my hearing in my right ear and now i can't do anything i really want to do.. i was just wondering if there was any kind of surgery i can do to repair my ear drum.. the docters say a hearing aid will not help because its not that my ear dont hear it.. its that it just can't "translate it" .. please email me robertbrown1984@yahoo.com .. i prob will never find this site again.. thanks

Perhaps if a hearing aid is coloured, because current line of hearing aids are dull and look old...

Or, perhaps if a hearing aid is disguised as an earplug connected to something that looks like an Ipod/mobile phone/mp3 player then maybe kids would use them...

Sooner or later, hearing aids will be common in our society just like people who wear glasses...

"Sooner or later, hearing aids will be common in our society just like people who wear glasses..."

With science improving all the time, I wouldn't count on it...

I have a hearing loss since birth and I never shy away from ANNOUNCING to anyone, anywhere that I cannot hear whenever the need arises. Even after encountering discrimination (sometimes while in the midst of it) I still inform others that I cannot hear simply so that they can more effectively and appropriately communicate with me.

I do not think that we should wait until a celebrity acknowledges something that we all can do for ourselves. That is almost like saying that any "non famous" person is not valuable enough to know their rights and recognize their own worth as an individual despite the discrimination that still occurs in society.

Yes, I understand that Paris, and other celebrities can do a public service using their fame, yet I think as a society, we rely too much on what the "famous" or celebrities say about something. It is like, until a celebrity discusses it, it doesn't exist or it is unimportant. I think we should not allow ourselves to be swept under the rug until a celebrity decides to acknowlege us (or even themselves).

Advocate for self and others in whatever way that you can; don't wait for a celebrity who is worried about a fake image in the first place to acknowlege you let alone represent you. Celebrities are no better than you or anyone else whether or not they have a hearing loss. Chances are, they have a slightly easier time than you because they may have more access to the most updated resources available that many of us cannot even afford yet.

Paris knows she is not the only hearing impaired person in the world (if she actually is) so she is like a lot of other hearing impaired people who think that they can hide it; are in denial or simply ashamed. I feel sorry for them.

If the stigma of wearing ha's is that horrenduous in the West, you just imagine my plight in India. I live in Mumbai, considered almost 100% westernised in more ways than one but the stigma of having hearing loss(or wearing Ha's) is so thick you can cut salaami on it.
I am a well-known trainer in Mumbai and I dread wearing ha's for want of being "found out". But I am not alone. I know a very successful neuro surgeon here who is hoh and wears cic's. He tells me that if people should know that he has hearing impairment his profession would be grossly effected.
Besides PH, I believe Bill Clinton wears cic's - particularly when he is among crowds. Many olderpoloticians in India wear ha's. In fact, out last Prime Minister,Vajpayee, wore Cic's on occasions. When he doesn't, he's deaf to people's pleas to root out corruption so rampant and intense in the Indian Government.

Kevin Tyagi (Mumbai, India)

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your perspective from India. It looks like hearing aids are becoming more accepted here in the US, so hopefully that trend will spread worldwide. Another encouraging development is the convergence of different technologies that all have a device on the ear - hands free devices for cell phones, hearing "enhancers" for people with normal hearing, and hearing aids. Hopefully they'll all soon be readily available and indistinguishable in terms of appearance.

Best wishes,
Larry