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Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World
The surprising science of hearing and the remarkable technologies that can help us hear better
Our sense of hearing makes it easy to connect with the world and the people around us. The human system for processing sound is a biological marvel, an intricate assembly of delicate membranes, bones, receptor cells, and neurons. Yet many people take their ears for granted, abusing them with loud restaurants, rock concerts, and Q-tips. And then, eventually, most of us start to go deaf.
Millions of Americans suffer from hearing loss. Faced with the cost and stigma of hearing aids, the natural human tendency is to do nothing and hope for the best, usually while pretending that nothing is wrong. In Volume Control, David Owen argues this inaction comes with a huge social cost. He demystifies the science of hearing while encouraging readers to get the treatment they need for hearing loss and protect the hearing they still have.
Hearing aids are rapidly improving and becoming more versatile. Inexpensive high-tech substitutes are increasingly available, making it possible for more of us to boost our weakening ears without bankrupting ourselves. Relatively soon, physicians may be able to reverse losses that have always been considered irreversible. Even the insistent buzz of tinnitus may soon yield to relatively simple treatments and techniques. With wit and clarity, Owen explores the incredible possibilities of technologically assisted hearing. And he proves that ears, whether they're working or not, are endlessly interesting.
Our sense of hearing makes it easy to connect with the world and the people around us. The human system for processing sound is a biological marvel, an intricate assembly of delicate membranes, bones, receptor cells, and neurons. Yet many people take their ears for granted, abusing them with loud restaurants, rock concerts, and Q-tips. And then, eventually, most of us start to go deaf.
Millions of Americans suffer from hearing loss. Faced with the cost and stigma of hearing aids, the natural human tendency is to do nothing and hope for the best, usually while pretending that nothing is wrong. In Volume Control, David Owen argues this inaction comes with a huge social cost. He demystifies the science of hearing while encouraging readers to get the treatment they need for hearing loss and protect the hearing they still have.
Hearing aids are rapidly improving and becoming more versatile. Inexpensive high-tech substitutes are increasingly available, making it possible for more of us to boost our weakening ears without bankrupting ourselves. Relatively soon, physicians may be able to reverse losses that have always been considered irreversible. Even the insistent buzz of tinnitus may soon yield to relatively simple treatments and techniques. With wit and clarity, Owen explores the incredible possibilities of technologically assisted hearing. And he proves that ears, whether they're working or not, are endlessly interesting.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published October 29, 2019
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October 9, 2019
Hearing gets no respect. We can imagine blindness by closing our eyes, but there’s no way to shut down our ears. And because they seem to bounce back after every abuse, from stereo speakers and earbuds to circular saws to motorcycles to rock concerts, we think we dodged a bullet and that we can take it.
But David Owen says that is not true. In Volume Control, he visits the experts, sees the experiments and the measurements, and shows that every incident causes irreversible damage. It often only starts to appear later, but plenty of people become hard of hearing in their prime years, with the prospect of a largely silent future. And every incident from fireworks to gunshots to power tools and kitchen appliances has the potential to plant permanent damage in our ears.
Unless they also develop tinnitus (he says it’s pronounced like tin-itis, with accents on the first two syllables). This constant hissing or ringing in the ears, 24/7, merits two chapters in the book. For one thing, it is far more common than we think. It can be so annoying it drives people to suicide. He makes it clear there is no cure, no specific ways to cause its onset, and usually leads to other hearing problems. Early diagnosis is too late. And it continues even when you’re totally deaf. Avoidance means avoiding shocks to your hearing, next to impossible in our world.
The whole book is rather downbeat this way. Damage is not repairable. Even with cochlear implants, hearing can only be restored to a low level. Our whole civilization operates not just on fossil fuels, but on loud noise. Meanwhile, our ears have evolved to pick out tiny noises in otherwise total silence. The coming together of those two states can only lead to permanent damage in hearing.
Our solutions range from nothing to pathetic. Owen points out that while glasses actually build up vision back to the perfect range, we have nothing to restore the quality of hearing. The result is while people have no problem employing glasses and changing them often, hearing aids are typically put off for a decade of annoying everyone else with “What?” and “Huh?” People who plunk for them often put them in a drawer after the first use, where they sit for years. Where glasses are stylish and become people’s signature identifier, hearing aids are pure stigma. So we hide them, if not in a drawer, at least behind the ear.
Hearing aids are a scam, as we all know, and which Owen confirms in no uncertain terms. They cost less than $100 to make, but we get charged $6000 for a pair. And all they are are miniaturized loudspeakers and tiny microphones. Manufacturers have lobbied states successfully, so that in most jurisdictions, customers cannot order or even adjust them themselves. Only a professional, licensed audiologist can turn up the volume. More reason not to go that route.
And because they don’t have a workaround for the loss of range we made the appointment for in the first place, all they can do is boost the volume to exploit the range we still have left. They do not restore the higher tones most people lose first, so everything remains distorted and difficult. They sound tinny and in general, worse than a lousy cellphone connection.
Instead, like most hi tech, all kinds of add-ons (bloatware) are offered, including a choice of constant sounds to cover the tinnitus, to even a personal alarm-clock only the wearer will hear. There are lots of color choices to complement glasses or clothing too, but nothing to restore hearing.
The book is quite comprehensive, delving into the differences of the deaf at birth from those who lose hearing early and those who lose it over a lifetime. He examines the history of sign language, and goes over the arguments of ASL vs vocal training. The conclusion is both are legitimate, full-featured languages and deserve the same respect.
One thing missing, and I can’t believe this myself, is that no one is using noise cancelling headphones to eliminate the single tone of tinnitus. Owen knows his is about 6000 Hertz, or cycles per second, but he doesn’t pursue Bose, which makes top of the line noise cancelling equipment, to program a unit with the inverse of 6000 Hz, which should, in theory, silence it. If that is a foolish notion, he should at least explain why, because noise cancelling headphones now offer masking noises to hide tinnitus, rather than zero them out. That is correct: noise cancelling headphones now offer additional noise to muffle noise. How wrong is that?
On the hearing aid front, there is modest hope, at least financially. Bose, which rates a lot of coverage in Volume Control, even to a profile of the founder, now sells a hearing aid it cannot by law call a hearing aid. It does of course perform exactly as a high-end hearing aid, with all the same components, but don’t call it a hearing aid. It’s a Hearphone. You wear it around your neck, and plug earbuds into it and your ears. It is rechargeable, stylish and carries no stigma because it looks like a music appliance. It has all kinds of adjustments for noisy restaurants, quiet rooms, traffic, cinemas, airplanes, loud conversation and on and on. And no audiologist is required to change the settings. You can do it on a phone app. Best of all — $500 to find out if it works for you. Beats the hell out of $6000.
There is an even greater important revelation in Volume Control, concerning the tiny hairs in our ears. Damage to them has long been blamed for increasing deafness and loss of range, as well as tinnitus. But we’ve been looking in the wrong place all this time, simply because the light was better under this lamppost. The real culprit apparently lies farther inside our skulls, where the synapses that transfer sounds to the neurons of our brains have shrunk back, no longer making the connection. It seems that when we apply too much noise, synapses disconnect rather than annoy our brains with painful, endless, not to mention useless sounds. Just like how we ignore a constant droning sound so we don’t even notice it, the brain physically disengages from harmful sound. This has big implications for actually restoring quality hearing, but it will take years to figure out.
Owen weaves his usual easy to read and digest text, filled with stories of people he knows, and in this case his own hearing issues. It is a fast and pleasant read, but most of all it is a critically important read. Volume Control offers really valuable information. Everyone needs to act on this information right away, from using earplugs, to turning down the volume, to educating children. The harm is gigantic. As Owen explains in comparing loss of sight and hearing, it is far more difficult to sit among friends and family and be unable to hear their stories, laugh at their jokes and (not) respond with your own, than to be blind but still participate in human social activity. The subtleties and cues from our irreparable hearing are taken for granted, and you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
David Wineberg
But David Owen says that is not true. In Volume Control, he visits the experts, sees the experiments and the measurements, and shows that every incident causes irreversible damage. It often only starts to appear later, but plenty of people become hard of hearing in their prime years, with the prospect of a largely silent future. And every incident from fireworks to gunshots to power tools and kitchen appliances has the potential to plant permanent damage in our ears.
Unless they also develop tinnitus (he says it’s pronounced like tin-itis, with accents on the first two syllables). This constant hissing or ringing in the ears, 24/7, merits two chapters in the book. For one thing, it is far more common than we think. It can be so annoying it drives people to suicide. He makes it clear there is no cure, no specific ways to cause its onset, and usually leads to other hearing problems. Early diagnosis is too late. And it continues even when you’re totally deaf. Avoidance means avoiding shocks to your hearing, next to impossible in our world.
The whole book is rather downbeat this way. Damage is not repairable. Even with cochlear implants, hearing can only be restored to a low level. Our whole civilization operates not just on fossil fuels, but on loud noise. Meanwhile, our ears have evolved to pick out tiny noises in otherwise total silence. The coming together of those two states can only lead to permanent damage in hearing.
Our solutions range from nothing to pathetic. Owen points out that while glasses actually build up vision back to the perfect range, we have nothing to restore the quality of hearing. The result is while people have no problem employing glasses and changing them often, hearing aids are typically put off for a decade of annoying everyone else with “What?” and “Huh?” People who plunk for them often put them in a drawer after the first use, where they sit for years. Where glasses are stylish and become people’s signature identifier, hearing aids are pure stigma. So we hide them, if not in a drawer, at least behind the ear.
Hearing aids are a scam, as we all know, and which Owen confirms in no uncertain terms. They cost less than $100 to make, but we get charged $6000 for a pair. And all they are are miniaturized loudspeakers and tiny microphones. Manufacturers have lobbied states successfully, so that in most jurisdictions, customers cannot order or even adjust them themselves. Only a professional, licensed audiologist can turn up the volume. More reason not to go that route.
And because they don’t have a workaround for the loss of range we made the appointment for in the first place, all they can do is boost the volume to exploit the range we still have left. They do not restore the higher tones most people lose first, so everything remains distorted and difficult. They sound tinny and in general, worse than a lousy cellphone connection.
Instead, like most hi tech, all kinds of add-ons (bloatware) are offered, including a choice of constant sounds to cover the tinnitus, to even a personal alarm-clock only the wearer will hear. There are lots of color choices to complement glasses or clothing too, but nothing to restore hearing.
The book is quite comprehensive, delving into the differences of the deaf at birth from those who lose hearing early and those who lose it over a lifetime. He examines the history of sign language, and goes over the arguments of ASL vs vocal training. The conclusion is both are legitimate, full-featured languages and deserve the same respect.
One thing missing, and I can’t believe this myself, is that no one is using noise cancelling headphones to eliminate the single tone of tinnitus. Owen knows his is about 6000 Hertz, or cycles per second, but he doesn’t pursue Bose, which makes top of the line noise cancelling equipment, to program a unit with the inverse of 6000 Hz, which should, in theory, silence it. If that is a foolish notion, he should at least explain why, because noise cancelling headphones now offer masking noises to hide tinnitus, rather than zero them out. That is correct: noise cancelling headphones now offer additional noise to muffle noise. How wrong is that?
On the hearing aid front, there is modest hope, at least financially. Bose, which rates a lot of coverage in Volume Control, even to a profile of the founder, now sells a hearing aid it cannot by law call a hearing aid. It does of course perform exactly as a high-end hearing aid, with all the same components, but don’t call it a hearing aid. It’s a Hearphone. You wear it around your neck, and plug earbuds into it and your ears. It is rechargeable, stylish and carries no stigma because it looks like a music appliance. It has all kinds of adjustments for noisy restaurants, quiet rooms, traffic, cinemas, airplanes, loud conversation and on and on. And no audiologist is required to change the settings. You can do it on a phone app. Best of all — $500 to find out if it works for you. Beats the hell out of $6000.
There is an even greater important revelation in Volume Control, concerning the tiny hairs in our ears. Damage to them has long been blamed for increasing deafness and loss of range, as well as tinnitus. But we’ve been looking in the wrong place all this time, simply because the light was better under this lamppost. The real culprit apparently lies farther inside our skulls, where the synapses that transfer sounds to the neurons of our brains have shrunk back, no longer making the connection. It seems that when we apply too much noise, synapses disconnect rather than annoy our brains with painful, endless, not to mention useless sounds. Just like how we ignore a constant droning sound so we don’t even notice it, the brain physically disengages from harmful sound. This has big implications for actually restoring quality hearing, but it will take years to figure out.
Owen weaves his usual easy to read and digest text, filled with stories of people he knows, and in this case his own hearing issues. It is a fast and pleasant read, but most of all it is a critically important read. Volume Control offers really valuable information. Everyone needs to act on this information right away, from using earplugs, to turning down the volume, to educating children. The harm is gigantic. As Owen explains in comparing loss of sight and hearing, it is far more difficult to sit among friends and family and be unable to hear their stories, laugh at their jokes and (not) respond with your own, than to be blind but still participate in human social activity. The subtleties and cues from our irreparable hearing are taken for granted, and you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
David Wineberg
November 4, 2019
We've all played the would-you-rather game, and I bet in all your time playing, you've included the age-old question, "Would you rather be deaf or blind?" Owen posits this same question in the introduction to Volume Control, saying that when he was a kid, he and almost everyone else he knew chose "deaf" without a doubt - without having the experience of either disability, being deaf seems way easier than being blind. You can still see the world, you can read lips or learn ASL, etc. But now, after studying hearing loss and deafness in detail for years and experiencing hearing loss himself, Owen wholeheartedly chooses blindness over deafness. Sound, and by extension, language, is what connects us to the experience of being human: laughter, crying, music, audible communication, and even hearing for basic survival are essential components of our daily lives. As Helen Keller noted, "Blindness separates people from things; deafness separates people from people."
However, hearing loss is becoming more and more common. Our maddeningly complex and tiny hearing systems have not evolved to match the level of noise in our post-Industrial Revolution world: the loudest noises pre-Industrial humans were used to hearing were waterfalls and thunder, but we now experience noises that loud on a daily basis (think: music in headphones, leaf blowers, subway cars). More than any other sense we have, hearing is extremely fragile - there is absolutely no surgery, medicine, or device that can correct or restore hearing once impaired, particularly if that impairment is caused by one loud noise (e.g. a shotgun blast close to your head) or constant exposure to loud noises (e.g. working in a factory or a loud restaurant).
Owen presents an overview of modern hearing problems, focusing more on the all-too-common problem of hearing loss rather than just deafness. I can't overstate how important this book is - I bet you know someone with hearing loss or maybe have experienced it yourself in the form of tinnitus, old age, or overexposure to noises. My dad has fairly severe hearing loss and the level of isolation and miscommunication he's felt in the past few years is astounding. He's tried two expensive hearing aids, Bose HearPhones (which work very well), and will be getting a cochlear implant in a few months. But for a family man and a music lover, nothing has really worked to restore hearing to his life as it was before, and nothing likely will. Owen's book helps me both understand his struggles better, gives me tips for improving communication with him, and presents me with options for what to do about his hearing.
He notes that there is no better time to be deaf than the present, as the capabilities of technology and medical treatments are improving constantly. However, our society places an undue stigma on deafness and hearing loss, and refuses to reckon with the issue in the dignified way it deserves, acknowledging that hearing, once lost, is almost impossible to regain. Particularly moving to me was the story about Chilmark, a community on Martha's Vineyard, that had a very large population of deaf people in the nineteenth century due to a common genetic mutation. The community was isolated from the rest of the U.S. at this time, and didn't even know that deafness was an uncommon issue. They went on with daily life as if nothing was abnormal - everyone on the island knew how to sign, and communication was smooth and seamless between hearing and non-hearing people. Owen notes that if we all knew how to sign, we wouldn't have to grapple with expensive and barely effective technologies to improve hearing, we wouldn't have to shout to people with hearing issues, we wouldn't have to rely on "huh??" in every other sentence. In our increasingly loud world, maybe that method of volume control is actually the simplest.
However, hearing loss is becoming more and more common. Our maddeningly complex and tiny hearing systems have not evolved to match the level of noise in our post-Industrial Revolution world: the loudest noises pre-Industrial humans were used to hearing were waterfalls and thunder, but we now experience noises that loud on a daily basis (think: music in headphones, leaf blowers, subway cars). More than any other sense we have, hearing is extremely fragile - there is absolutely no surgery, medicine, or device that can correct or restore hearing once impaired, particularly if that impairment is caused by one loud noise (e.g. a shotgun blast close to your head) or constant exposure to loud noises (e.g. working in a factory or a loud restaurant).
Owen presents an overview of modern hearing problems, focusing more on the all-too-common problem of hearing loss rather than just deafness. I can't overstate how important this book is - I bet you know someone with hearing loss or maybe have experienced it yourself in the form of tinnitus, old age, or overexposure to noises. My dad has fairly severe hearing loss and the level of isolation and miscommunication he's felt in the past few years is astounding. He's tried two expensive hearing aids, Bose HearPhones (which work very well), and will be getting a cochlear implant in a few months. But for a family man and a music lover, nothing has really worked to restore hearing to his life as it was before, and nothing likely will. Owen's book helps me both understand his struggles better, gives me tips for improving communication with him, and presents me with options for what to do about his hearing.
He notes that there is no better time to be deaf than the present, as the capabilities of technology and medical treatments are improving constantly. However, our society places an undue stigma on deafness and hearing loss, and refuses to reckon with the issue in the dignified way it deserves, acknowledging that hearing, once lost, is almost impossible to regain. Particularly moving to me was the story about Chilmark, a community on Martha's Vineyard, that had a very large population of deaf people in the nineteenth century due to a common genetic mutation. The community was isolated from the rest of the U.S. at this time, and didn't even know that deafness was an uncommon issue. They went on with daily life as if nothing was abnormal - everyone on the island knew how to sign, and communication was smooth and seamless between hearing and non-hearing people. Owen notes that if we all knew how to sign, we wouldn't have to grapple with expensive and barely effective technologies to improve hearing, we wouldn't have to shout to people with hearing issues, we wouldn't have to rely on "huh??" in every other sentence. In our increasingly loud world, maybe that method of volume control is actually the simplest.
April 26, 2020
(3.5) Plenty of interesting information, I particularily enjoyed the section on the hearing aids industry. Technology advances are beginning to provide better products at lower costs, but there has been challenges with getting the industry to change how it controls the players and products, which has limited the access to more affordable hearing aids, and kept them from being more mainstream/more widely accepted, like eyeglasses are now.
I did find the book covered a broad spectrum of topics, so it felt like a 'quick dip' into numerous topics/issues. This was o.k for some topics I wasn't as interested in, but other topics I would have enjoyed a 'deeper dive'. I'm glad the author wrote the book to provide more awareness and understanding though.
I did find the book covered a broad spectrum of topics, so it felt like a 'quick dip' into numerous topics/issues. This was o.k for some topics I wasn't as interested in, but other topics I would have enjoyed a 'deeper dive'. I'm glad the author wrote the book to provide more awareness and understanding though.
December 16, 2019
Volume Control is an informative book on hearing. David Owen's chatty style makes it easy to read.
The book covers how hearing works, conductive hearing loss, hearing loss and tinnitus. It discusses American Sign Language and oralists in education for deaf communities. I find the cochlea implants very interesting. It also explains why traditional hearing aids so expensive and how traditional manufactures refuse to change it. My favorite is the chapter about new, high-tech based hearing enhancing gadgets, which are not allowed to be called hearing aids because of FDA regulation nevertheless fulfilling the same functions and more.
I chose to read the book because I, too, have tinnitus. Sadly there is no cure yet, but it's comforting to know that technology can help me cope with it, if I need it.
Our hearing is under-protected, not only for people in noisy jobs such as heavy machinery operators, carpenters, soldiers and rock musicians, but ordinary people in everyday life. It's because our world is increasingly loud and our understanding of hearing loss was very limited until recently. Loud sound not only destroys the hair cells in your inner year, but also causes neural degeneration--the latter was not discovered until 2006, and the damage can not be detected easily by conventional hearing tests used by audiologists. Current sound regulation and hearing protection in US and worldwide is inadequate. Don't wait until you suffer from hearing loss or tinnitus. Be more aware of the sound in your surroundings. Perhaps it is time to invest Boss Hearphones or at least a pair of Etymotic earplugs.
The book covers how hearing works, conductive hearing loss, hearing loss and tinnitus. It discusses American Sign Language and oralists in education for deaf communities. I find the cochlea implants very interesting. It also explains why traditional hearing aids so expensive and how traditional manufactures refuse to change it. My favorite is the chapter about new, high-tech based hearing enhancing gadgets, which are not allowed to be called hearing aids because of FDA regulation nevertheless fulfilling the same functions and more.
I chose to read the book because I, too, have tinnitus. Sadly there is no cure yet, but it's comforting to know that technology can help me cope with it, if I need it.
Our hearing is under-protected, not only for people in noisy jobs such as heavy machinery operators, carpenters, soldiers and rock musicians, but ordinary people in everyday life. It's because our world is increasingly loud and our understanding of hearing loss was very limited until recently. Loud sound not only destroys the hair cells in your inner year, but also causes neural degeneration--the latter was not discovered until 2006, and the damage can not be detected easily by conventional hearing tests used by audiologists. Current sound regulation and hearing protection in US and worldwide is inadequate. Don't wait until you suffer from hearing loss or tinnitus. Be more aware of the sound in your surroundings. Perhaps it is time to invest Boss Hearphones or at least a pair of Etymotic earplugs.
October 11, 2023
Practical, important information I did not know. The writing is a journalistic mix of science, first-person anecdote, history, and gee-whiz tech reviews. It works well for this narrow topic. I was at a conference the other day and for some reason they had it amplified to rock concert levels, so I put on my wireless ear buds that I normally use for listening to audiobooks, and used them as hearing protectors. Why not? I don't want to go deaf sooner than I have to. Thanks.
June 11, 2024
Super interesting. It was a lot of information to digest, but seemed well researched & was really informative. (3.5 ⭐️)
June 26, 2020
Chose this book because I heard the author in NPR. When I got it awhile later, I wondered why I was reading a book on hearing. Except for a few relatives on my mother’s side I haven’t had a lot of exposure to hearing disorders, I think. But I’ve had a couple of students with it and some older clients with it. When I started reading the book I realized how accessible it was and how important it is to know about hearing disorders. The book covers the problems with hearing disorders, it’s unseen and affects language development which is why people with hearing problems are often seen as “dumb”. Hearing is also seen as an acceptable side effect of noisy jobs and old age since it gets worse over time. The fear of being seen with hearing aids has affected the technology as concealment is seen as more important than better hearing and noise cancellation. The use of audiologists increase the costs of hearing aids and hinder technology development because the vendors are reluctant to change their business model. In education, schools are trying out main streaming students into regular classes early on and then only switching to schools specializing in hearing impairment only after the kids are years behind. First language development is best in a child’s early years and it becomes more difficult if not impossible to be fluent in later years. Parents of kids aren’t learning sign language so developing fluent communication is hard if not at home. Cochlear implants aren’t also important early in, while kids are learning language. I really loved this book and learned a lot.
November 7, 2019
I'd like to think I would have found this a good read even if I hadn't recently purchased and started using hearing aids (Lively, btw, they are awesome). The author is a New Yorker writer, and this reads like a great New Yorker article should - learnedly discursive, but still approachable and full of interesting anecdotes and characters. I regret having been so reckless with my hearing, and the author's tales of fireworks, rock shows and power tools rang an all too familiar bell (or would have, if I could still hear that sort of thing, lol). On the bright side, he does make the point that there's never been a better time to be hard of hearing, and that research promises even more potential aid for those of us who were careless with our precious and fragile auditory equipment. A civilized and thoughtful read, thoroughly enjoyed.
April 14, 2024
A fascinating exploration of the sense of hearing, how virtually all humans develop some degree of hearing loss as we age (largely due to the loud environments we inhabit, different from our mammalian ancestors), the culture surrounding congenital deafness, and what technologies are on the market or may soon be on the market to improve hearing loss, tinnitus, Ménière's disease, and other audiological issues.
February 18, 2020
It's a miracle that any of us can hear anything at all.
July 8, 2024
I learned a lot from this book and I’m very happy that I read it. I wanted to learn more about deaf history and culture and this book was super educational. Although it wasn’t always, what I would consider to be, a super thrilling read… it’s worth your time! I would encourage everyone to learn more about the Deaf experience. Also, all assistive devices should be free.
November 10, 2019
This book is so informative about the personal, social and societal cost of hearing loss and related conditions. I know so many people on this journey. I would recommend it to anyone trying to understand what it means for themselves, their loved ones, friends and in order to expand your compassion and knowledge. Many thanks for a very interesting read. My only suggestion would be to have illustrations of the anatomy of the ear and pictures of the devices you described in the book.
February 18, 2024
Interesting to read about the hearing aid businesses, its regulated lack of competition, leading to delayed innovation.
December 22, 2021
As an avid birder, I want to keep hearing birds. Unfortunately, I also have a life-long passion for music that tends to be too loud at times. Despite the tinnitus in my left ear, I can still hear high-pitched songbirds and can triangulate their positions. I would like to keep it that way. That is what led me to this book.
Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World by David Owen is very clearly written, well organized, indexed and referenced. The author provides a history of “cures” for hearing impairment and an biological explanation of what is going on. He explains the multitude of options for improving hearing; from traditional hearing aids, to surgery and a few others that were new to me. Obviously, it is a good idea to prevent further injury and earplugs are the simplest option. You will find is also a nice discussion and comparison of ear plugs near the end of the book.
Overall, I am very impressed with this book. If you, or someone you know (including infants) struggles with hearing impairment, this is the book for you.
Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World by David Owen is very clearly written, well organized, indexed and referenced. The author provides a history of “cures” for hearing impairment and an biological explanation of what is going on. He explains the multitude of options for improving hearing; from traditional hearing aids, to surgery and a few others that were new to me. Obviously, it is a good idea to prevent further injury and earplugs are the simplest option. You will find is also a nice discussion and comparison of ear plugs near the end of the book.
Overall, I am very impressed with this book. If you, or someone you know (including infants) struggles with hearing impairment, this is the book for you.
March 19, 2020
Every time I was reading this book, my ears started to ache. Owen makes a solid case (without really trying to) that everyone in the world should be stone-cold deaf.
Full disclosure: I've had single sided hearing loss since I was a child, so a lot of what Owen says rings very true. And I've always thought that I'd rather be blind than deaf. Being hard of hearing is exhausting, made more so by people's reactions to one's inability to hear. After reading "Volume Control", though, I can see that things are going to get much worse. I've always cranked the music up, primarily because I could hear it better, but very clearly this was a Bad Thing to do, and I have no doubt begun the destruction of the hearing I have left. Hearing aids have never been an option--they make things louder, but still indistinguishable from background noise--and it appears from this book they are a giant ripoff anyway. So my best bet seems to be purchasing a pair of Bose Hearphones, which Owen says do the trick at a small fraction of the price.
My ears are starting to ache again...
Full disclosure: I've had single sided hearing loss since I was a child, so a lot of what Owen says rings very true. And I've always thought that I'd rather be blind than deaf. Being hard of hearing is exhausting, made more so by people's reactions to one's inability to hear. After reading "Volume Control", though, I can see that things are going to get much worse. I've always cranked the music up, primarily because I could hear it better, but very clearly this was a Bad Thing to do, and I have no doubt begun the destruction of the hearing I have left. Hearing aids have never been an option--they make things louder, but still indistinguishable from background noise--and it appears from this book they are a giant ripoff anyway. So my best bet seems to be purchasing a pair of Bose Hearphones, which Owen says do the trick at a small fraction of the price.
My ears are starting to ache again...
July 9, 2020
This was an excellent examination of hearing and deafness in all its forms - from genetic to noise-induced to infectious causes; tinnitus (ringing of the ears). The author discusses all sorts of topics from hearing aids and the industry behind them as well as the technology that has also sprung up and allowed folks to take charge of their own devices and lower the prices charged to the deaf and Deaf community and how the deaf are educated. It is a topic I am intensely interested in as I have suffered for years with tinnitus and now it seems that my hearing is starting to decline as I age. Perhaps I'll give some of these less expensive / more user friendly devices a whirl. I recommend this book to anyone concerned about their hearing - and we all should be with the noisy world we live in.
July 30, 2020
Remember playing this game when sleeping over at a friend's in junior high: "If you had a choice, would you choose, being deaf or being blind?" Like most people, I'd have chosen deafness.
Until reading VOLUME CONTROL by veteran science writer David Owen.
If you take your hearing for granted, you won't after reading this book. It's superb pop-science, investigating both the complex biology and psychology hearing and the way modern life damages our ears. What's more, Owen makes a solid case that hearing is more important than we give it credit for.
Now after reading the book, were I to play that silly middle school game in middle age, I'd choose blindness. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 since it's an interesting, well-written book on a topic I;d not paid much heed to before reading it.
Until reading VOLUME CONTROL by veteran science writer David Owen.
If you take your hearing for granted, you won't after reading this book. It's superb pop-science, investigating both the complex biology and psychology hearing and the way modern life damages our ears. What's more, Owen makes a solid case that hearing is more important than we give it credit for.
Now after reading the book, were I to play that silly middle school game in middle age, I'd choose blindness. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 since it's an interesting, well-written book on a topic I;d not paid much heed to before reading it.
January 4, 2021
Good writing with clear information. How hearing works is explained. The author’s writing makes even this interesting. There is a brief history of the development of our understanding of how hearing becomes damaged and several different hearing disorders are explained. The author seemed to get a personal story for each one, and this makes the information engaging. You can see how different people are affected when they have one of these conditions. This seems to be one of the main points of the book – what hearing problems mean on a personal level. Volume Control talks about hearing aids, starting with the history of their development and going on to the people and companies who have developed other types of hearing assisting devices. This part is an interesting power struggle story
May 29, 2024
El ensayo mas entretenido e interesante que he leído este año. No se porque le di tantas vueltas para empezarlo.
Con este libro, es que me entero quien es David Owen. Creo que trataré de leer todo lo que saque desde este momento. ¡Escribe demasiado genial!
Pero bueno, hablemos del libro: es un ensayo sobre la importancia de la audición, de que es lo que experimentan quienes la tienen disminuida, y tambien de algunos cuidados que debemos tener para no dañarlo tan rapido.
Los temas que mas me gustaron fue el del respeto por las personas con desabilidad auditiva, la importancia de darle especial atención al aprendizaje de los niños con problemas auditivos, el autocuidado de los oidos y el ser consciente de que no hay una versión equivalente a las gafas para los ojos, pero para los oidos.
El libro no tuvo un capitulo de mas. Ser merece ese 5 de 5.
Con este libro, es que me entero quien es David Owen. Creo que trataré de leer todo lo que saque desde este momento. ¡Escribe demasiado genial!
Pero bueno, hablemos del libro: es un ensayo sobre la importancia de la audición, de que es lo que experimentan quienes la tienen disminuida, y tambien de algunos cuidados que debemos tener para no dañarlo tan rapido.
Los temas que mas me gustaron fue el del respeto por las personas con desabilidad auditiva, la importancia de darle especial atención al aprendizaje de los niños con problemas auditivos, el autocuidado de los oidos y el ser consciente de que no hay una versión equivalente a las gafas para los ojos, pero para los oidos.
El libro no tuvo un capitulo de mas. Ser merece ese 5 de 5.
November 14, 2019
Easy to read and extremely helpful. If you have any hearing loss or, like me, suffer from tinnitus, this book may help you understand what’s going on and help you make more informed choices about hearing protection and Assistance.
Before I read this book I was strongly considering getting expensive hearing aids with tinnitus treatment options, but since reading it I have decided to stick with my low-cost alternative of wearing Apple AirPods to mask the constant screaming in my ears during the day and using the now discontinued Bose sleep pods for as long as they last.
Before I read this book I was strongly considering getting expensive hearing aids with tinnitus treatment options, but since reading it I have decided to stick with my low-cost alternative of wearing Apple AirPods to mask the constant screaming in my ears during the day and using the now discontinued Bose sleep pods for as long as they last.
March 31, 2021
If you have ears, working or otherwise, you should read this, especially the last couple of chapters. I don't think a summary would do it justice, so just read it. If you're young, read it and learn why and how you should take care of your hearing before it's too late. You might think you know, but you probably don't appreciate all the details and implications. If you're already an oldster, learn what your options are going forward.
November 12, 2020
DNF: Just wasn't what I was looking for. There is a lot of research being done about the damage our increasingly noisy world can do. This was more about how people cope with hearing loss. There were too many personal accounts for it to be a compelling science-based read, and too much science for it to be emotionally engaging. I tired of it quickly.
February 22, 2020
I highly enjoyed this book as an introduction to and overview of hearing!
November 21, 2023
You will have such a deeper understanding of the auditory system when you finish this book.
The author is an engaging writer, and includes many thought provoking stories. Very enjoyable read.
The author is an engaging writer, and includes many thought provoking stories. Very enjoyable read.
September 2, 2024
DNF.
I got as far as hearing (and later reading, because I didn't quiet believe my ears) the author (white, boomer, male, American, golfer) saying he chooses to "blame the Chinese" for his tinnitus. I see. That sort of white, boomer, male, American golfer. I'll pass, thanks.
I got as far as hearing (and later reading, because I didn't quiet believe my ears) the author (white, boomer, male, American, golfer) saying he chooses to "blame the Chinese" for his tinnitus. I see. That sort of white, boomer, male, American golfer. I'll pass, thanks.
January 25, 2020
Good read with great tips. Can’t wait to start using the SoundCheck app mentioned to find quiet places for dining. Thinking about splurging on Bose Hearphones. Makes aging far more palatable.
August 1, 2022
An excellent book that has been circulated around our families as we all consider hearing loss, hearing aids, and try to learn more. This is part science, part anecdotes, part reporting. I learned a great deal!
November 22, 2023
The surprise of the year. This book about the human sense of hearing was fantastic! Every time I revisited, I learned something new and applicable to the real world.
September 24, 2020
If you enjoy Bill Bryson's books, this treatise on hearing and acoustics will be enjoyable. There are lots of practical tips--but I wondered if the author was a Bose minion.
November 6, 2019
If you have ears or know anyone with ears, you need to read this book. David Owen has done all of us a favor by stressing the importance of hearing and sound. Your ears are more vital, more fragile and more endangered than you think. Owen begins his book with anecdotal tales that many of us can relate to. But then he takes a deeper dive into the anatomy of ears, types of hearing problems, technology and possible future devices. You may get somewhat lost as Owen descends into some of the details but stay strong and carry on reading. This is your ear and hearing he is writing about – you should become very familiar with them! There is much to learn of value and there are things you can do to preserve /enhance hearing. Reader, listen up!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this very necessary book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this very necessary book.
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