Ryan has moderate to severe hearing loss, and he has worn hearing aids since an early age.

"We don't really know what caused it," his mother said, but the doctors diagnosed the deficiency when he was 2 years old.

Ryan took another sip of his coffee and nodded.

"Show her your hearing aids," his mom asked.

He gently pulled off his stocking cap and there they were: two bluish ear molds that sat deep in his ear. Clear tubes led to hearing aids hidden behind his ears.

He can hear well, "but he does some lip reading," his mother said with a chuckle.

"And he can't play in the snow, because if the ear pieces get wet, they're gone," the grandmother said.

The hearing aids cost about $2,000, while the molds are about $80 to $100, according to Barger's mother.

Ryan put his hat back on, took another sip from his coffee and in a low tone said, "and you have to remember to carry extra batteries around with you all the time." He then pulled out a pack from his pocket.

Hearing problems on the rise
Ryan's hearing loss might have been caused by an ear infection, his doctors speculated, but noise is another enemy that can lead to a similar outcome.

Audiologists are starting to see a number of young people come in with greater hearing loss than expected, according to David Coffin, the audiology program director at Ball State University Audiology Clinic.

"Some of (the students') test results look like someone who's been working at a factory for years," he added.

Noise has been a constant threat to hearing since the industrial revolution. In all, about 10 million Americans have irreversible hearing loss, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Many of them are baby boomers.

But with the advent of portable music players, such as Walkmans in the '80s and iPods in recent years, audiologists worry that the younger lovers of loud music can put themselves at a high risk of hearing loss.

A combination of high intensity and long duration of loud noise can slowly damage and kill the nerve cells within the ears. These cells do not regenerate.

The symptoms of hearing loss can be hard to detect since they are usually not immediate.

Soft sounds, like bird songs, are usually the first to go, and "students usually don't know they have a hearing loss," Coffin said. "They just know their hearing has been weird."

Prevention
"Anybody who listens to music through earbuds can suffer from hearing loss," Coffin said.

The rule of thumb is to keep the volume low enough so you can still hear what's going on around you, Coffin explained. "Or, if others around you can hear the music, it's too loud."

Dean Garstecki, chairman of Northwestern University's communication science and disorders department, recommends the 60 percent/30 minute rule. Listeners should set their music players to sound levels that are no more than 60 percent of the maximum volume, and use their earbuds for no more than 30 minutes at a time.

There are also plethora of options when it comes to earphones.

The white earbuds that accompany iPods are placed directly into the ear and can boost the audio signal by as many as nine decibels -- comparable to the difference in sound intensity between an alarm clock and a lawn mower -- according to Garstecki.

In addition, "you feel like you have to turn it up because they're so small," said Masita Matuka, a senior at BSU.

Replacing small earbuds in favor of larger earmuff-style headphones is one of the protective measures recommended by audiologists.

Message not heard
Conveying the danger of hearing loss to the young is a challenge, however.

"Noise is generally a concern with kids," said Jaime Gabbard, an audiologist at Professional Hearing Healthcare in Muncie. "But kids don't listen to us. It's hard to convey to a 16 year old that a small bit of hearing loss could be a big deal."

Sam Edmonds, a BSU senior, admitted that he listens to music through his headphones in "full blast" mode for a few hours every day.

But he shrugged off the danger of hearing loss, saying that his hearing is fine now.

Just recently, Pete Townshend, guitarist in the '60s rock bank The Who, acknowledged that his hearing has been irreversibly damaged by years of using studio headphones.

"But it's hard to educate kids these days," Gabbard said. "Most patients tell me that you can't imagine what it's like to live your life and not be able hear your grandchildren."

By Naseem Sowti
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060107/NEWS01/601070324/1002