Female Reporter: “…than ever before and
doctors say our lifestyles are largely to blame. High volume is damaging the sensitive cells
in our inner ears, and doctors say if you don’t address hearing loss early, it can
cause permanent damage. Male Reporter: That’s right and joining
us this morning with more on the issue of ear, nose, and throat is our specialist Dr.
Sreek Cherukuri. Did I get it right? Dr. Cherukuri: Yes, you did. Thank you. Male Reporter: Hey! Alright! Female Reporter: Alright. We're off to a good start. Thanks for being here and getting up early. Dr. Cherukuri: Thanks for having me. Female Reporter: Well, one of the statistics
that really struck me, you mentioned, you know, that people are walking around and they
don’t even know that they might need some help with a hearing aid. It’s estimated that 36 million people in
the US need hearing aids. Over 77% are walking around without them. That’s incredible. Dr. Cherukuri: That’s, that’s correct. There’s a lot of denial. Usually, we associate hearing loss with the
elderly or senior population, but the fact is a majority of people with hearing loss
are under 65. They might be in the working world and our
bodies have been able to compensate either by reading lips or by getting other cues that
sometimes hearing loss can go years without it being obvious. Male Reporter: What do you believe, especially
for the younger folks, has contributed to the hearing loss? Dr. Cherukuri: We’re living in a much noisier
world. You know, years ago, 20 years ago, a walkman
could last two hours on a couple of batteries and they had foam headphones over the ear. Now that the ear buds of an iPhone or iTunes
goes in the ear canal and it can go all day and they listen to that every single day. And so a lot more noise is delivered to the
middle ear. And I think that’s part of the cause. Female Reporter: So, we have this younger
generation, you know, listening to the iPods and whatever. You decided, okay, well something needs to
be done because a lot of these people who might need a hearing aid cannot get it covered
with their insurance. Is that correct? Dr. Cherukuri: Right, and that’s an unfortunate
thing is Medicare and most insurance companies do not cover hearing aids as a disability
device. We’re not sure exactly why that is, but
the average hearing aid costs one to three thousand dollars each and that’s an out-of-pocket
expense. Female Reporter: And that’s just for one
ear. Male Reporter: Yeah, you need two of them. Dr. Cherukuri: That’s one ear and most people
need two. That’s right. So, in my daily practice, I’d see patients
all the time that would really benefit from it either at their job or with their wives
or spouses or their grandkids, but if they couldn’t afford the cost, then they went
without a solution, which is really heartbreaking as a doctor. Something so simple we don’t have a solution
for. So, it kinda got me thinking there’s gotta
be a pretty good… Male Reporter: And that’s what you designed
here, right? Dr. Cherukuri: Right. So, after a little bit of research, you know,
we created what we call the MDHearingAid. Female Reporter: Okay. Dr. Cherukuri: And it’s a very good device. It’s a low-cost device that can amplify
the sounds associated with the human voice without overly amplifying background noise. And we consider it almost like a reading-glasses-for-your-ear type of scenario where it’s a nonprescription-type hearing aid. And it’s been very well received and it
does very well. Male Reporter: And what does this one run
as compared to, you said, the one to three thousand dollars? Dr. Cherukuri: Right. So this is in line with more other consumer
electronics. This is under $200 each. Male Reporter: Okay. Female Reporter: That’s significantly less. Dr. Cherukuri: It’s an affordable option
and sometimes, you know, we all, as doctors, recognize that the best hearing aid is a custom-fit,
programmed hearing aid, but those are very, very expensive, sometimes out of reach and
sometimes very good is the best you’ll get. Male Reporter: Right. So, Doc, where can they find these? Dr. Cherukuri: So we have set up a website
with a lot of great information. It’s called MDhearingaid.com. Female Reporter: Okay. Dr. Cherukuri: And they can learn all about
hearing loss and the importance of why it’s really critical to treat it with a hearing
device or whatever. Female Reporter: Alright, well, if you’d
like more information… Male Reporter: Thanks for being here. Female Reporter: You can call 888-670-HEAR
or you can go to MDhearingaid.com. And we’ll, of course, get that information for you on
our website at Fox17online.com. Male Reporter: Alright, it is 7:49. Still ahead this morning… Female Reporter: This coming weekend…
