New York — On August 10, 2011, NBC’s Today show featured host Matt Lauer admitting that he was concerned about having hearing loss and showed his journey through getting a hearing exam from Shelley A. Borgia, AuD, a New York-based practitioner.
A Baby Boomer and long time broadcast journalist, Lauer was prompted to seek help over decreased hearing sensitivity in his right ear, where he receives information from the morning show’s broadcast booth via a discreet earpiece.
The 7-minute segment includes highlights of Lauer’s audiology exam and discusses common concerns of people with hearing loss, such as the stigma attached to wearing a hearing aid.
Laurer’s testing revealed that while his left ear is borderline normal for hearing sensitivity, his right ear, where his earpiece is placed, does have mild high-frequency hearing loss.
While Laurer’s hearing loss is not severe enough for Brogia to prescribe a hearing aid, she does prescribe custom hearing protection to protect further damage when attending loud events.
However, Lauer also included another story about a man in his 30s who did need a hearing aid and received a Lyric. The patient’s story addressed the stigma issue of having a visible hearing aid, and the fact that patients now have a choice of many unobtrusive hearing aids.
Overall, the segment increased public awareness of hearing health. It highlighted different types of hearing aids, showed the examination process, and spoke to many of the common concerns of potential Baby Boomer hearing aid recipients, such as Lauer.
To view the segment, go to this page on the Today show Web site.
SOURCE: NBC Today Show video
