May is Better Hearing and Speech Month, an annual event to raise awareness about hearing loss and illustrate the emotional impact it can have on those who are hard-of-hearing or deaf.

Cathy Kooser and co-worker Leslie Iannarino, who both work at Hillcrest Hearing Aids and Balance Center, are co-chairwomen of the third annual Walk4Hearing 5K happening May 21 at Carillon Historical Park. Dayton Daily News columnist D.L. Stewart is this year’s honoree.

As a licensed independent social worker, Kooser, who was diagnosed with a severe sensorineural hearing loss as a child, is the first to admit she occasionally can find herself using negative strategies to compensate for her disability.

Like others with a hearing loss, she might bluff during conversations — for instance, nodding or smiling — to acknowledge that something is being said even though she isn’t sure what is being said.

Or she may occasionally dominate a conversation, which she says can make many people with hearing loss feel as if they are in control. But the tendency to dominate can be interpreted as dominating and self-centered behavior.

She can also withdraw at times isolating herself by choosing to clean, do dishes or tidying up.

Using her own personal struggles as well as relevant research, Kooser developed a counseling-based rehabilitation program, titled “The Kooser Program: The Hidden Impact of Hearing Loss.” The Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation in Ohio uses the one-day workshop as part of the rehabilitation process for people requesting assistance related to their hearing disability.

According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, 36 million people in the United States have some form of hearing loss, making it a public health issue third in line after heart disease and arthritis, and one of the most common birth defects.

“Eighty percent go undiagnosed and untreated, and that is a calamity,” she said, noting hard-of-hearing people are likely to struggle with negative stigmas, embarrassment and other emotional difficulties related to their disabilities. Men are five times less likely to get help for hearing loss than women.

“Although hearing loss plays a role in shaping and defining those of us who experience it, we cannot let it stop us from becoming who we are meaning to be, nor from living the lives we are meant to live,” Kooser said.

Types of hearing loss

Kooser said there are two main types of hearing loss.

With conductive hearing loss, sound is blocked in the outer or middle ear. Causes include excessive earwax, ear infection, fluid in the middle ear, or stiffness in the bones of the middle ear (otosclerosis). She added conductive hearing loss is usually treated by a physician.

Sensorineural hearing loss, on the other hand, is defined by inner ear damage to the cochlear and/or auditory nerve that disrupts transmission of signals to the brain. Noise exposure, hereditary factors, illness, medications and age-related conditions can cause sensorineural hearing loss.

According to HLAA, 26 million Americans have noise-induced hearing loss that could have been prevented. Baby boomers, for instance, are starting to lose hearing from the rock concerts they enjoyed in their youth, the group points out, and the long-term effects of young people spending hours listening to MP3 players has yet to be determined.

Hearing loss is labeled by these categories: normal, mild, moderate, moderately severe and profound.

Deaf is a still-used term for people falling in the profound range of hearing loss across all frequencies of sound measured.

Yet Kooser emphasizes hearing loss is treatable.

“If you have trouble hearing, you can get help,” she said. “The type of hearing loss determines the treatment. With conductive hearing loss, medications, surgery and hearing aids are available. With sensorineural hearing loss, the treatment available is hearing aids and rehabilitation unless it advances to a profound loss of hearing in which case a cochlear implant may be appropriate.”

Kooser thinks a case of mumps and scarlet fever when she was 6 triggered her hearing loss, which was diagnosed at age 12. It then reached a severe level at age 18. Kooser says she has struggled tremendously, but notes her experience has enabled her to enrich the lives of others dealing with hearing loss.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-0671 or rmcmacken@

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