Talking Ears

Audiologist Michael Santucci is the president of Sensaphonics and considered by many to be the father of Music Audiology. Since 1985, he's been innovating music performance devices, clinical techniques, and educational programs that have raised the standard of hearing healthcare for music and entertainment professionals. His products are seen everywhere from the biggest stages on Earth, to 254 milesabove Earth in the International Space Station. His ceaseless work inspires clinicians to practice with high ethical standards when caring for the hearing of musicians, which is exactly the influence his mentorship has had on Talking Ears producers Frank and Juan. Further, he challenges researchers to ask the big impactful practical questions, and creatively raises the funds to see those projects through. In this episode, we cover all that and still have time for a few memorable stories.
Music heard in this episode is by Juan Vasquez, Scott Hallam, and Frank Wartinger.

In this special feed-drop, we are listening in on the most recent Signal To Noise Podcast episode, "Hearing Health Matters". Talking Ears producers Juan Vasquez and Frank Wartinger joined fellow music audiologist Laura Sinnott and Signal To Noise host Chris Leonard for a panel discussion in which we fielded listener questions about hearing health. We also got into the technical details and importance of hearing testing for music industry professionals.
Please enjoy, and do consider subscribing to Signal To Noise Podcast! Past Talking Ears guest Michael Lawrence is a co-host, along with Kyle Chirnside, Sam Boone, and Chris Leonard. Their show is a true professional class act and we applaud them for being leaders in the discussion of health issues - including hearing health - in the music industry.

In this episode, we turn the microphone on Talking Ears co-producer and audiologist, Juan Vasquez. Here he shares the story of how he got to hearing conservation and audiology from a background in very loud music, and he gives the best possible answer to how these two passions can be reconciled. Good news: we will be hearing more of Juan's voice in upcoming episodes of Talking Ears!
Music in this episode was written by or features performances of Juan Vasquez and The Absolute Threshold. Additional music by Gunsling Birds.

Bassist and producer Eric Heveron-Smith (Postmodern Jukebox, Einstein's Dreams) joins Frank to talk about his work in jazz and other acoustic music genres. We get into hearing, monitoring, and other health considerations important for professional musicians to ensure career longevity, and get philosophical about the role of music in the world.
Music heard in this episode features performances by Eric Heveron-Smith with various groups including Moonshine Rhythm Club, The Capitalist Youth, Gunsling Birds, and a sneak peek at the upcoming album "Flight Manifest" by Einstein's Dreams. For more information about Eric's many many projects, visit https://www.eric-hs.com/

Here is a special bonus episode featuring Music Audiology expert Heather Malyuk, AuD. In her recent episode, there was a lot of conversation around the clinical field of music audiology that didn't belong in the episode so we split it off into a separate conversation. This is equal parts for the Music community to get a peek behind the curtain into the clinical world, and an open invitation to the Audiology community to hear more about our subspecialty.
 
Music in this episode is by and/or featuring our guest, Heather Malyuk.

Ben Runyan (City Rain) joins Frank to talk about habituation, identity, and prevention through his own experience developing tinnitus and his path to recovery. This episode features music by Ben Runyan.
 
In this episode, we discuss mental health and significant distress from audiologic conditions. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Michael Lawrence (co-host of the Signal To Noise Podcast), joins us to talk about SPL, loudness, and the audio engineer's responsibility when it comes to exposure risk at live sound events. Expressed through his work as a system engineer and senior instructor at Rational Acoustics, he brings humanity to the technical aspects and numbers when balancing a concert's perceived loudness and safety of all involved. 
 
This episode features music by Audiologist and Talking Ears producer, Juan Vasquez and his band The Absolute Threshold.

Dr. Heather Malyuk, a fiddle player, lifelong musician, and celebrated music audiology expert. She is the past clinical director at Sensaphonics and currently the owner of Soundcheck Audiology. Her hearing health curriculum is a unique tool designed for use by music industry professionals.
In this episode, Heather shares her musical upbringing and we discuss the emotional and physical demands of a musician's life which can strain one's health and wellbeing.
If you would like to book a private virtual appointment with a music audiologist, follow the below links to view available appointment times, sign up for a consultation, or inquire further. We look forward to caring for you and your ears.
Schedule a tele-audiology consultation with Heather Malyuk
Schedule a tele-audiology consultation with Frank Wartinger