Shark Tank Host Discusses His Hearing Lossby Brenden Gilewski, Hearing Healthcare Liasion

Instantly recognizable from ABC's "Shark Tank," Daymond John is an entrepreneur extraordinaire. But did you know that Daymond  (@thesharkdaymond) suffers from hearing loss and wears Starkey's Hearing Technologies' Halo 2 hearing aids?

In a recent Instagram post, Daymond set out to combat hearing aid stigma and help others live life to the fullest, overcoming what is a common but often hidden issue.  Daymond is not a paid sponsor of Starkey, but wanted to share his experience and reach out to those that may literally be suffering in silence.

Here is Daymond John's recent Instagram post:

“I love music!  I have been partying, attending concerts and wearing headphones while listening to music way too loud ever since I was a child. So like many of us, my hearing is not what it should be. 3 years ago I started wearing @StarkeyHearing Halos because they not only amplify my hearing, but I can also connect them to my iPhone and listen to my music, audio books and anything else quietly.

Once I started wearing them, I was shocked at how many people approached me about them. Many of the people clearly knew that they or a loved one had a loss of hearing but were too embarrassed to wear a hearing device because they were afraid of what people would think. That makes absolutely no sense to me. Why would you ever miss all the beautiful sounds of life because of what somebody else thinks? I decided that I want to be somebody that helps break the stigma that only seniors need these type of devices. Especially when today's technology allows you to do so much more with them by connecting to your smartphone. So I asked Starkey to hook me up with a special pop color pair that didn't blend in with my skin like my brown pair did. I want to make sure people noticed them when they see me.

Today my brand new red Halos came in and I'm ready to rock!! So if you have somebody in your life that is afraid of what people think if they wear hearing devices, then use me as an example. When you see them on me, tell them to get with the times.

To be clear, I have a great relationship with Starkey, but I have absolutely no ownership and I am not getting paid for this post. If you choose not to buy a Starkey product, that's ok. The point here is to share with the people you love with hearing loss that life is way too short to not enjoy all the beautiful aspects of it to the fullest. Push them to get their hearing checked and let them know that what other people think should be the last thing they should ever listen to! Pun intended:-) DJ”

This world renowned entrepreneur has built brands into global powerhouses including a six billion dollar brand in FUBU, which he founded.  In addition to being the Presidential Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship and a co-star on "Shark Tank," Daymond is also a celebrated pioneer in the fashion industry, a best-selling author, and a highly sought after motivational speaker.

Daymond recently spoke at the Starkey Hearing Innovation Expo to talk about the "power of people" with Starkey's research and development team. He reminded the team why they are dedicated to investing in their people and their purpose.

The Hearing Innovation Expo is a global event hosted by Starkey Hearing Technologies, America's premier provider of hearing healthcare.

Use and Optimize your Awesome Hearing Resource

The things we don’t think about!  This week the New York Times reported on Lee Duck-hee.  He is an 18 year old who is ranked 143rd in the world in tennis, a sport in which listening to the ball is crucial.  Lee is the best player in South Korea, and he is also deaf.  In tennis, seeing the ball is thought to be insufficient at the top level of play.  Hearing the ball enables the quickest responses.  Even milliseconds make a difference in a game with super-fast serves and powerful groundstrokes.

Each spin has a slightly different sound as it comes off the racket.  Martina Navratilova explains that “You first hear the ball. Then you respond to the speed and spin according to the sound.” Studies have shown that people react more quickly to auditory stimuli than visual ones. At this level of play, every fraction of a second is significant.  Andy Roddick noted that at Wimbledon his first reaction to the shot comes from hearing. He explains “I think you need to hear the ball pretty clearly to play at your highest level.”

Hearing is so important that some players struggle with crowd cacophony – at this year’s U.S. Open even the pounding rain caused some players to find it hard to hear the cues that informed them about their opponents’ strokes.

In his book “The Inner Game of Tennis” W. Timothy Gallwey preached attention to the sounds of the sport, and described a feedback loop created by close attention to the sounds of one’s strokes in order to replicate the “crack” of a successful shot. The body learns to repeat the movements that produce that wonderful sound.

So – how remarkable it is that Mr. Lee, a deaf player, could do so well without the benefit of critical auditory information!  Paige Stringer, founder of the Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss, suggested that people born deaf may have a stronger sense of intuition in general, and are more tuned in to the subtle clues in face and body language than people with normal hearing.

This led me to thinking:  We know that hearing loss is a risk factor for falls; we suspect contributions of the inner ear balance system, medications and other health issues, and perhaps decreased awareness of the environment.  I thought this article raised a related issue: that auditory cues are quicker than visual cues – for the tennis player this may mean quicker access to information about where the ball is coming from.  Likewise ordinary people deprived of acoustic feedback in the form of footsteps, maybe even echoes, may be at a disadvantage in keeping their balance.

I shared this with Dr. Frank Lin, a Johns Hopkins otologist with expertise in the field of hearing and cognition, and he offered this thought:

“Yes—I fully agree with you about the role of subtle environmental cues in helping maintain balance. Importantly, for many older adults, balance is dictated by lots of things—strength, vision, cardiovascular output, proprioception, etc. I don’t think hearing is one of the dominant risk factors but for an older adult who already has multiple ‘hits’ affecting their balance (e.g., diabetes and peripheral neuropathy, poor eyesight, etc.), hearing could be a key additional ‘hit’ that may in fact be modifiable/treatable unlike the other risk factors.”

My conclusion: use and optimize your awesome hearing resource! Whether for your best possible tennis game….or treasured everyday communication with your friends, coworkers, and family.