Art Norman of NBC Interviews Dr. Cherukuri on Hearing Loss

Art Norman: Good morning. Going to tell you about some brand new cutting edge technology to help your hearing. You’ve got a young person wearing headphones all day long. They could be hurting themselves. Our special guest is Dr. Sreekant Cherukuri, ear, nose and throat specialist. You know all about hearing.

Dr. Cherukuri: I do.

Art Norman: Are you seeing a proliferation of hearing loss among young people?

Dr. Cherukuri: Yes. The medical studies are showing that more and more young people are getting hearing loss as compared to a decade or even two decades ago and we think that one of the causes is the in-ear ear buds and the iPhone type MP3 players.

Art Norman: You’ve got a little demonstration thing here. What’s happening?

Dr. Cherukuri: The old fashioned headphones used to be over the ear. The new ones go in the ear canal, much closer to the ear drum. They can put out a much louder sound and at maximum volume you can permanently damage your hearing in as little as 15 minutes.

Art Norman: 15 minutes. Now over a period of years, if you’re our age or older, what’s happening?

Dr. Cherukuri: We’re starting to see more and more people under the age of 65 with hearing loss impacting them at the home or workplace.

Art Norman: You’ve got some solutions to help us out? Brand new technology. Tell us about this. This is your company.

Dr. Cherukuri: This is our company. Hearing aids typically cost $1,000 to $5,000 each.

Art Norman: $5,000.

Dr. Cherukuri: And most insurance companies don’t cover that, so the cost is prohibitive for most. What we’ve designed is one size fit most, a behind the ear model called the MDHearingAid AIR and our newest in the ear wearable form factor called the MDHearingAid FIT. 

These are one size fits most. You take them out of the box. You put them on.

Art Norman: So it looks like this?

Dr. Cherukuri: That’s the MDHearingAid FIT.

Art Norman: Do I have to have a special mold for my ear?

Dr. Cherukuri: This is what’s called an instant fit custom. Its patented design allows it to fit most adult ears.

Art Norman: I put it in my ear.

Dr. Cherukuri: As simple as that and if you have a hearing problem, you’re suddenly hearing that much quicker, that much better.

Art Norman: It’s comfortable. Can I do any adjustments once I have it in the ear?

Dr. Cherukuri: Yes. The product can change the program or the volume dial by a simple touch of the finger and these products are up to 90% less than the cost of a custom hearing aid.

Art Norman: You’re a doctor. I went to a rock concert with my son. It was so loud. The next day I had ringing in my ear. What was that?

Dr. Cherukuri: That’s called a temporary threshold shift, meaning sound was loud enough to cause permanent damage. If the ringing went away, you got lucky, but if you go back to a setting like that, you should wear ear plugs or protection.

Art Norman: More information about this brand new cutting edge technology is at your website. You are www…

Dr. Cherukuri: MDHearingAid.com.

Art Norman: MDHearingAid.com.

Dr. Cherukuri: That’s correct.

Art Norman: Thanks a lot. More information about his technology and his website. Come to us. We are NBCChicago.com. For Charlie Wegihowsky I’m Art Norman and we’ll see you right here.