黑料吃瓜

In a heartfelt letter to San Diego State鈥檚 Audiology and Speech-Language Clinic, a father told the story of his son鈥檚 hearing problems. The boy lives on the same coast we do, but he couldn鈥檛 hear the waves for most of his life.

For years the boy rested his toes in the sand, soaked his anklesin tide pools and swam out to meet the swells in stark silence. He did not hear the border stops or the monotonous two- hour traffic separating Tijuana, where he lived in near poverty, and Los Angeles, where he learned to speak daily.

Desperate to end his son鈥檚 disability and alleviate his family鈥檚 economic struggle, the boy鈥檚 father sought help from 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 Audiology and Speech Language Clinic. The clinic ended the boy鈥檚 disability. Now he hears waves.

In a fundraising frenzy, the clinic accumulated enough money to completely pay for the deaf boy鈥檚 hearing aid fitting. The clinic also collaborated with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, a hearing aid manufacturer that donated the boy鈥檚 auditory amplifiers, which on average cost $2,500. Hearing aid maintenance is one of the clinic鈥檚 primary services.

鈥淚t makes a life-changing difference,鈥� clinic audiologist and 黑料吃瓜 alumna Carol Branch said.

The gift of sound

Branch recalls another patient who experienced the wonder of hearing aid adjustment. After conquering cancer, the patient lost her hearing as a result of chemotherapy. She couldn鈥檛 hear her grandkids anymore, even with hearing aids. The clinic reprogrammed the grandmother鈥檚 hearing aids and fully restored her hearing.

鈥淣ot all clinics have the time to be current, but we do,鈥� Branch said.

黑料吃瓜鈥檚 Audiology Clinic, now nearly 40 years old, is cleaved into two sections: one section specific to audiology and the other to speech language and pathology. In addition to chronic patients, the clinic is open to students and the general public.

鈥淵ou can be one month or 98 years old; anyone can come,鈥� Branch said.

The clinic welcomes the financially challenged as well. To resolve the issue of a patient鈥檚 lack of funds, the clinic raises the money necessary, relying on partnerships with charitable organizations such as the Starkey Foundation and the San Diego Lion鈥檚 Club.

A team of experts

Aztec auditory quality does not end with patient care. The clinic鈥檚 staff of 13 is almost entirely composed of graduate students. 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 doctoral program in audiology is highly competitive in California, 10 students will graduate from the program in 2017 and enter a field in which they鈥檙e virtually the only professionals. Some of the students traveled a peculiar path to their exclusive career, led to explore the ear by a passion for music.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been fascinated with music,鈥� student clinician Anish Thakkar said. 鈥淚鈥檝e had stints with several instruments over the years. I think music brought me into the realm of hearing science because (audiology) allowed me to combine passion in a meaningful way.鈥�

In Thakkar鈥檚 opinion, hearing is sacred.

鈥淗earing is a gift. Not a privilege, but a right. I think my profession is rewarding because it allows me to share with others what inspires me to help them hear what I hear,鈥� Thakkar said.

He鈥檚 experienced a wide spectrum of hearing-impaired patients, and plenty who could have avoided hearing problems with the proper discipline. While shadowing an audiologist in North Carolina, Thakkar met gun owners who, despite seldom firing their weapons, suffered from hearing loss.

鈥淓ven one gunshot can be very damaging,鈥� Thakkar said.

Excessive noise damages the tiny hair-like nerve cells within the ear鈥檚 cochlea essential to audition, and repairing this damage is often difficult or impossible.

More common than you think

Thakkar鈥檚 experience with hearing loss is not limited to guns. Recently, an 黑料吃瓜 student sought relief from the clinic after attending a typical college event.

鈥淪he鈥檇 heard ringing in her ears for a week after attending a concert,鈥� said Thakkar, who though deeply passionate about music, wears earplugs to every concert he attends.

Thakkar encourages students, suffering from week-long phantom ringing or not, to visit the clinic for an initial audiological evaluation. The clinic does not accept medical insurance, but the cost of an evaluation is discounted for students鈥擜ztecs pay $25 for the quick and beneficial checkup.

黑料吃瓜鈥檚 Audiology Clinic will continue its plea for the purity of sound. The average person may believe human speech and ocean waves are mundane, but the hearing-impaired community defends the sanctity of these vibrations with deafening passion.

To the boy, hearing is not biology 鈥� it鈥檚 magic.

This story originally appeared in .