"You can't even tell you have it on," he said. "It fits so close behind my ear that all you see is this little plastic wire."

Lancaster, 75, said the tiny technology in his ear filters out background noise so he can more clearly understand conversations and television dialogue.

Audiologists said advancements in hearing aids, from automatic volume adjustments to open fitting designs, have sparked the replacement of bulky ear pieces that often ended up spending as much time in dresser drawers as on patients.

"The hearing aid can tell if you're sitting at home in quiet or if you're in a crowded restaurant and there are a lot of people talking, and it automatically adjusts the way it amplifies," said audiologist Joan Chesickof WNC Ear Nose Throat Head & Neck Surgeons.

"This new technology has made it possible for people with mild hearing loss at just the high pitches to be fitted with hearing aids," she said. "People can hear better without being stopped up and feeling like they are talking in a barrel."

Chesick, who just turned 50 and has very mild high frequency hearing loss, said she could now have a hearing aid programmed exactly to her condition. "We couldn't do this just a few years ago," she said.

'A noisy world'
Experts said the advancing technology might convince youth-obsessed baby boomers to consider getting a hearing test and be fitted with a device if needed.

A recent U.S. survey, commissioned by a nonprofit foundation and an amplified- telephone supplier, suggests that nearly half of the nation's 76 million baby boomers may need some hearing help.

Forty-nine percent of the respondents to the boomer survey of about 440 people said they've experienced some hearing difficulty, but only about one in three had gotten a hearing test, according to The Education and Auditory Research Foundation and Clarity, which co-sponsored the survey.

"It was long considered a disease of the elderly," says Ingrid Edwards, an audiologist at The Heuser Hearing Institute in Louisville, Ky. "Now, 40-year-old people, who are still working and still require the ability to communicate regularly at work and to maintain their lifestyles, can't hear."

There are many reasons for hearing loss, from aging to noise to genetics. Among the survey respondents who reported a hearing problem, 51 percent blamed it on noise, 37 percent blamed age and 18 percent cited a medical condition.

"We're seeing younger and younger people because of the noise exposure," said audiologist Cynthia Earle of Asheville Audiology Services. "We live in a noisy world, and were not protecting our ears."

Noise above 85 decibels can after a period of time cause hearing loss, health professionals said, but many people don't know how loud that is.

"If you're in a situation where you have to raise your voice to talk, it's damaging your hearing," Earle said. And if you can hear the music coming out of someone else's earphones, she said, it can be harmful to the listener.

Audiologists recommend common sense tips such as using foam earplugs or other appropriate protection when in a loud environment, including using equipment like chainsaws, lawn mowers or weed eaters.

Hearing protection can be obtained from health professionals or over the counter at sporting-goods and drug stores. People with special needs, such as musicians and hunters, can also get custom-made protection.

Better testing
The increase of younger people, including students, being identified with hearing loss can also be attributed to more comprehensive testing and better equipment, said Tracie Rice, audiologist with Western Carolina University's communication sciences and disorders program.

"There's a more openness in being checked," she said. "Hopefully it's a shift in how hearing loss is perceived - that it's not an aging issue anymore; it's a medical condition that needs to be addressed."

Hearing loss is usually gradual, experts said, and it can take a while for people to realize their condition and fully own up to it.

"It's not something you wake up one morning with," said audiologist Tonya Bartley of Mountain Regional Ear Nose & Throat. "The majority of people who have hearing loss wait about seven years after the problem begins to have their hearing tested."

Hendersonville's Lancaster recommends seeing a physician to determine if any related medical condition exists and get a list of preferred audiologists if a hearing aid is appropriate.

After a bad experience with his first hearing aid, Lancaster said he is pleased with his current device.

"It has improved it immensely," he said about his hearing. "I don't have to ask my wife to repeat herself like I did before," he said.

Darla Carter of The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal contributed to this report

Learn symptoms, how to prevent hearing lossLearn symptoms, how to prevent hearing loss

Learn symptoms, how to prevent hearing loss

- Get your hearing tested every year, starting at 40. Also, get it tested if you start having trouble understanding people. Difficulty distinguishing between words such as "sin, thin and fin" can be a first symptom of hearing impairment.

- Wear hearing protection when you're in a noisy area.

- If it sounds like people are mumbling or you can't hear people within 3 feet, it's too noisy.

- If you know the volume is too high, turn it down, or if that's not possible, leave the area.

- If you experience symptoms such as ringing, buzzing, pain, pulsing or pressure in the ear, that's a sign of excessive noise exposure. Don't go back without hearing protection.

- If you listen to music through a headset, set it to a comfortable level while in a quiet place, and don't go above that level, even if you go into a noisy area.

- If someone nearby can hear the music coming from your personal music player, it's too loud.

By Michael Flynn