Unnaturally quiet

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All newborns in the Greater Washington area are required by law to have their hearing tested before leaving the hospital. From then on, in most cases, a person is responsible for his own ear health -- an increasingly difficult assignment in today's noisy society.

According to the Rockville-based American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, an estimated 28 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss and up to 50 million are affected with some degree of tinnitus, a ringing sensation in the ears.

A number of issues are involved, as audiologists well know. They are the professionals who measure hearing loss, tinnitus, balance and related disorders and recommend treatment for them. If a hearing aid is recommended, audiologists fit the device and give the necessary counseling.

Insurance usually covers the screening but not the expense of a hearing aid.

The McLean-based American Academy of Audiology has a lower estimate of the number who need help. It says 24 million Americans have hearing loss -- nearly one-half of them younger than 65. Hearing usually decreases with age, but many other causes are at work.

"It has gotten worse. We are definitely a noisy society," says audiologist Teri Wilson-Bridges, director of Washington Hospital Center's Hearing and Speech Center.

"Everything is bigger and louder. Toys are louder. Television sets are humongous, and they are loud. And all those Walkman radios and CD players. That is the worst because the sound is right at your ear. If I am sitting next to you wearing one and you hear it, it is too loud. Over time, it definitely can cause some hearing loss, and people aren't aware of it."

An audiogram is a test that shows the profile of a person's condition. Even people who do not suspect they have a hearing problem would benefit from undergoing the test, audiologists say, because results establish a baseline for the future.

The tests are required by the U.S Department of Labor for people surrounded by continuous loud noises on their jobs, such as construction workers who operate jackhammers. Medical doctors -- usually ear, nose and throat specialists, known as otolaryngologists -- will send patients for testing when they suspect a problem and need help with a diagnosis.

The District of Columbia and 32 states, including Maryland and Virginia, mandate screening for newborns. "The problem was that a lot of kids were being identified at age 3 or 4 when they have missed a lot of language," says Mrs. Wilson-Bridges. "We started it at Washington Hospital Center in 2001, a year before the District required it, and it was definitely a big undertaking because we have about 5,800 births a year."