"Hear the Beat" feat. Moe Jerant | Drummer for The Large Flowerheads

The Hearing Matters Podcast discusses hearing technology (more commonly known as hearing aids), best practices, and a growing national epidemic - Hearing Loss. The show is hosted by father and son - Blaise Delfino, M.S. - HIS and Dr. Gregory Delfino, CCC-A. Blaise Delfino and Dr. Gregory Delfino treat patients with hearing loss, tinnitus, and Central Auditory Processing Disorder at Audiology Services, located in Bethlehem, Nazareth, and East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

On this episode we interview Moe Jerant, drummer for The Large Flowerheads! Moe has been a professional musician for over 20 years. She began playing the drums when she was gifted a snare drum by a few of her schoolmates in 7th grade! Who knew that years later Moe would be the drummer for one of the most popular 60's cover bands in The Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas!

During this episode you will learn: 

• The importance of getting your hearing tested on an annual basis 
• Why musicians need to get their hearing tested at least 1x/year
• The evolution of hearing technology as described by a long-term hearing aid user, Moe Jerant 
• Echoic memory and hearing loss, as it relates to musicians 
• Treating your hearing loss sooner than later 
• How hearing aids increase speech intelligibility and understanding 

Moe has been a patient of Audiology Services for over 15 years! Dr. Delfino and Cheryl Delfino, B.A. - HIS fit Moe with her first set of hearing instruments in 2005. To date, Moe currently wears her third set of hearing aids from Audiology Services and has experienced positive patient outcomes. Moe is extremely motivated to continue to increase her overall speech understanding and decrease her listening effort. This is one of the many reasons why she loves her hearing aids.

Being a professional musician means that Moe is exposed to constant noise on a consistent basis. Between band rehearsal and live shows, it's essential she continue to protect her residual hearing; we want to maintain the hearing sensitivity she does have. That being said, when Moe is rehearsing or performing, she uses musician in-the-ear monitors! Now, when she's done playing a gig, she doesn't have that ringing in her ears when she gets home (commonly referred to as temporary threshold shift).

Too often we speak with professional musicians who don't perform as much (some don't perform at all anymore) because they present with hearing loss. At Audiology Services, it is our mission to encourage musicians to get their hearing tested on an annual basis! A musician's sense of hearing is like a canvas to an artist - essential. Practice healthy hearing habits, wear hearing protection when you go see your favorite band perform live, and don't listen to your music turned all the way up (unless of course it's The Lar

Transcript

Blaise Delfino: 0:06

You're tuned in to the Hearing Matters Podcast with Dr. Gregory Delfino, and Blaise Delfino of Audiology Services and Fader Plugs. This show that discusses hearing technology, best practices, and a growing national epidemic. Hearing loss. On this episode, we have Moe Jerant from the Large Flower Heads join us. Moe Welcome to the show.

Moe Jerant: 0:31

Thank you so much. It's great to be here.

Blaise Delfino: 0:34

It is so nice to have you on the show a professional musician for well over 20 years now. And also a patient of ours for well over 15 years.

Moe Jerant: 0:44

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay,

Blaise Delfino: 0:46

We are so excited for this episode. Let's dive right in and share your story. You are a professional musician. Let's get right into it.

Moe Jerant: 0:55

Okay, which chapter?

Blaise Delfino: 0:58

Let's start with the chapter one.

Moe Jerant: 1:00

Chapter one, when I was a young child. Well, I'm, I'm a native to the Lehigh Valley. I play drums, I play guitar, I sing. Right now I'm one of the founding members of the Large Flowerheads, which is pretty much a large part of what I do musically. And then the other part of what I do is, I have a business called Lv drum circle. And I do more stress reduction and healing programs and community drum circles. And I take drumming and rhythm to people that you would not expect, would have a takeaway from it, but they actually have a very deep takeaway from it. So I have kind of this like, alter ego of Moe, the rock star, and Moe, the person who hangs out with all different kinds of people and does all different kinds of things through rhythm.

Blaise Delfino: 1:53

I mean, Moe, that's absolutely incredibly because that's what's so amazing about music, it is the universal language and language in and of itself is a code in which ideas are shared. And everyone can really share music. Right? It's it's a universal language. Moe, what inspired you to enter the music industry? I mean, did you start playing when you were young? When did this music bug kind of kind of bite you?

Moe Jerant: 2:22

I can't say for sure where it came from within me. But it must have been happening because when I finished seventh grade, my family moved from Bethlehem to Coopersburg. And a bunch of the girls that I knew and hung out with and talked with, as going away gift, they got me a snare drum. And I know, right. And so I just took that and kind of ran with it across the years and developed it and you know, did that kind of stuff. And, and it was a you know, it's the kind of thing that I prefaced by saying, I don't know how it came out of me, but it must have been there and it must have been really obvious to them. So they're like, Oh, well, this could be a cool gift. And we'll just give her that

Blaise Delfino: 3:03

and and you said thank you for sparking

Moe Jerant: 3:06

Oh my gosh

Blaise Delfino: 3:07

A full career of music, right?

Moe Jerant: 3:08

Yeah, the person that I still am in contact occasionally comes to see the band and she always says the same thing. I can't believe where this took you,

Blaise Delfino: 3:17

and what you and your your bandmates have built. Moe, being a musician, you rely on your sense of hearing,

Moe Jerant: 3:25

oh my god.

Blaise Delfino: 3:27

Every single day, you play you practice you rehearse you perform, and when did you start to notice a decrease in your overall hearing sensitivity? Like was there a specific incident? Was this gradual?

Moe Jerant: 3:43

No. No, what happened was I was I and I was thinking about this. It was probably in maybe like the late 70s, early 80s. For some reason, I went to a friend of mine for vocal lessons. And I'm singing through the scales. And you know, I go da da da da da , and all of a sudden, I get to this point in my voice where there's no note coming out. And it all sounds like and I thought it was funny. And the woman who was who was teaching me said no, that's a big problem. And I was taken by surprise. She suggested that I go see an ear nose and throat specialist, which I did. He looked at my throat and said Guess what? You have singers nodules. And so I said, Okay, how do we deal with this? That was a couple month process. But it basically involved me not talking for about three or four months

Blaise Delfino: 4:38

vocal rest

Moe Jerant: 4:39

which was a huge challenge, because at the time I was teaching and I had maybe 30 students a week. And I couldn't not teach or not play on weekends. You know what I'm saying? I couldn't I was ot a spot or I couldn't just say, Oh, I need three months off, and then try to figure out how to pay my bills. So you know, we went forward With the treatment, and of course, after a while, that all worked out. But one of the times I was in the specialist office, he said to me, when was the last time you had your hearing checked? I said, Oh, geez, I don't know. Maybe I was in elementary school. He goes, That's it, get in the booth. So I went in the booth, and he came back and he goes, Well, you know, you have some loss coming on. You play drums, you have to rethink this, you have to rethink this. You have to think about what frequencies and sound pressure are like when you're playing. He then translated to me, your snare drum is basically going to have almost the same capabilities as a pistol or rifle going off. And you would not see a guy on a rifle range without hearing protection.

Blaise Delfino: 5:50

No.

Moe Jerant: 5:51

And I sat there going, Wow, he's right. And he said, the worse There's your snare drum is bad. But the worst culprit is your cymbals. And I said, Wow, okay.

Blaise Delfino: 6:02

Especially where the high hats are.

Moe Jerant: 6:03

Oh, yeah. Right.

Blaise Delfino: 6:04

High hat right next to the snare drum.

Moe Jerant: 6:06

Yeah, yeah. So um, you know, across the course of the time, I was like, Well, you know, okay. And then also, we had the conversation, how do I deal with this? He said, you're going to need hearing protection. And we talked about that a little bit. And he suggested I go with the foam, you know, things that you squish and put in your ear. They work great, but you can't hear pitch well enough to sing.

Blaise Delfino: 6:29

No. Nope.

Moe Jerant: 6:30

So I went to the hollowed out things with a little bud that you know

Blaise Delfino: 6:34

musician earplugs. Yeah, absolutely.

Moe Jerant: 6:36

And that was okay. But it still was it was not enough hearing protection. But I could hear the singing and it was just kind of weird. So basically, what happened was, I ended up meeting the two of you and your family. And we had a bunch of conversations about all different kinds of stuff. And I ended up in your office. Not that that's a bad thing. It was actually great.

Blaise Delfino: 7:00

And the so you first started coming to Audiology Services over in my gosh, 15 years ago. But you started to come to our original office, which right in Bethlehem?

Moe Jerant: 7:12

I did. Yeah.

Blaise Delfino: 7:12

And I feel like I remember the first time that you were there because I was, of course younger. And well, we all were

Moe Jerant: 7:20

Right, right.

Blaise Delfino: 7:21

You know, like just getting stuck because being a musician as well, right? My parents were like, Oh, this is Moe, she helped us out with with, whether it be which drumsticks to use and and stuff like that, like she's a professional musician. And I still remember when you first came to Audiology Services. So we helped you out.

Moe Jerant: 7:40

Yeah, you did

Blaise Delfino: 7:40

Got you on the road to better hearing. And I know prior to the show, you had said I can touch upon the evolution of my own hearing technology. So what was your life like when you were first fit with hearing technology over 12-15 years ago?

Moe Jerant: 7:55

Well, let me go back a step to what it was like before.

Blaise Delfino: 7:58

Yes, sure. Okay. Let's do it.

Moe Jerant: 7:59

Okay. One of the things that Dr. Delfino said to me when we talked about my, my hearing test was, here's where you are on the spectrum, so to speak. And it's obvious to me that you kind of understand you have hearing loss, and you've already and you've, you've become very adaptive. And you're not like a perfect lip reader, but you can use it in conjunction to what you're hearing to get by. So for right now, you don't really need anything, but you're gonna, you know, and then and then, of course, I come back and say, Well, how about if I just get one in my bad ear? And he goes, No, your head, your brain, your ears don't work like that. And I left the office and instead of going, Man, that dude's trying to sell me stuff. I thought about it, and I went, you know what? He's right. He's absolutely right. It was more of following the thought process of how you hear. And if you understand that, it changes the whole deal. So now to go back to what it was like after I got my first set of instruments. My first set of instruments were molds. So that technology probably doesn't even exist anymore for hearing aids are does it?

Blaise Delfino: 9:13

They're still available. But what's amazing is that with the evolution of the technology is that we can successfully fit patients with open fittings like you what you currently wear, because the technology has caught up Dr. Delfino.

Dr. Gregory Delfino: 9:27

Yeah, and the other issue is that because of the the sophistication in the technology, were able to place more than one microphone, we were limited with regard to the geography how much space or real estate we had on an ITE whereas with the behind the ear, we've got more space to put more microphones so we get much better sound resolution. So I agree.

Blaise Delfino: 9:46

So you started with the in the ear custom hearing instruments

Moe Jerant: 9:50

Two sets of those.

Blaise Delfino: 9:51

Okay

Moe Jerant: 9:52

Cuz the dog ate one. No, he really did. And I came in, I'm like, I know it sounds silly, but he really did. I got the second pair, and I can't remember why it was in the office and I was talking to your mom, and we were having the conversation about the Oticons. And she said, You know, I'm gonna lend you a pair of these, you gotta try him. And she put them in, and we set them up. And I went home. And I was like, Whoa, this is a whole new world. And I have a friend who is also my drum tech, who I referred to your office and your mom fitted her too. And when I got the Oticons I went to her and I said, listen, you really got a, I'm sorry, I can't take these out of my ears and let you use them. But this is amazing. It's really amazing. And the way I described it to her was with the molds, you have enhanced and improved hearing abilities. But it sounds like you're listening through a wall. Kinda. I mean, you're hearing you're definitely hearing better than before. But it sounds like you're hearing through a wall when you put the Oticons in, and the instruments that I have now. All that's gone, It's like it's a different feeling.

Blaise Delfino: 11:09

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, when it comes to like venting and things of that nature, you could have the correct vents on but you're still going to experience some of that occlusion effect. So you had two sets of custom in the ear hearing instruments now wearing what are called RIC's or receiver in the canal or behind the ear, open fitting hearing instrument as compared to the technology that was to now. I mean, how much of a difference?

Moe Jerant: 11:38

Is that even a fair question? You know what I mean? It's, well, it's huge. It's a huge difference. And when I look at the possibilities, they're even better. Yeah, they're even better. And I can go back very briefly and talk about the one session that I came in, and I said Blaise, this is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, it's not working, what can we do? And we sat there, and we count recalibrated a whole bunch of stuff and set it up differently. But the point is, if I still would have had the ear molds, I don't think that would have been possible. Well, certainly not in an efficient time manner. Like when we did what we did I mean, it would have been like, Oh my gosh, I don't want to say a nightmare, but it would have taken forever.

Blaise Delfino: 12:26

So what and I remember that session, though, because first of all, it's very, for lack of a better word cool to now be able to, you know, work together, and I'm able to help you and serve you throughout your new hearing journey. So when Moe came in for her annual hearing evaluation, what we did is we reprogrammed her current pair of hearing instruments, and we conducted real ear measurement. And very much like, when you go into the studio, we're able to essentially equalize through like an EQ. shaper, if you will. And I can tell and we know when Dr. Delfino and I conduct real ear measurement, all right, well, we need to increase between 1500 to 2000 hertz or we need to decrease 750, you know, 500 to 750 hertz, we're able to do that with like a graphic equalizer, which is real ear measurement and not enough hearing healthcare professionals are conducting real ear measurement. But that's one of the many reasons why you are doing so well. Only about 30% of hearing healthcare professionals are conducting real ear measurement. We fit you with appropriate technology based off your type and degree of hearing sensitivity. And we've programmed the instruments specifically to your lifestyle, and of course, your type and degree of hearing loss. And what's interesting to Moe coming from you, you are a professional musician, your brain knows what you know, certain pitches sound like in Dr. Delfino, you've worked with many musicians over the year. And I know that you're a musician as well. So it's always exciting when you meet a patient who plays music or who has a love for music. But what have you noticed with the evolution of technology today, when it comes to even the enjoyment of music, the hearing aids today, they do an amazing job in terms of processing music in and of itself.

Dr. Gregory Delfino: 14:14

Yeah, truly I mean, musicians are a very unique breed. And as much as prior to any hearing loss they have developed in their echoic memory, where they remember sounds. And so as time goes on a start to perhaps lose some of their hearing, there is that disconnect between how I remember the sound and the way it sounds now and that creates some discordance, if you will, with the musicians. And so now the hope is I want to get back to the way in which it sounded in my mind. And so that with today's technology, we are much better able to do that and with real ear because we are actually looking at the canal resonance of your ear. That's different for every individual. So once I know where that is, we can then fine tune it to where your hearing sounds, the way that you used to, it becomes reminiscent of a time when you enjoyed music in a certain way. And that's what we want to return to you.

Moe Jerant: 15:11

Oh my gosh, yeah. Yeah.

Blaise Delfino: 15:13

Moe, how have the hearing instruments positively influenced your interpersonal relationships and the ability to communicate with your bandmates, and students and family things of that nature?

Moe Jerant: 15:25

Tremendously, tremendously. One of the cues for me, and I don't remember if I ever told you this story, Dr. Delfino. But one of the cues for me to go back to the office and get instruments was, I was teaching a class, and somebody said something to me. And my response had nothing to do with what they said to me. And I didn't know it. And after the class, somebody said, Hey, do you know that they said this? And then that was your response. And I went, What? And so there you go. It's like, all right. That's it. Right?

Blaise Delfino: 16:00

Those inappropriate responses. And you're not alone there Moe. I mean, even individuals tuned in right now, who do present with a decrease in hearing sensitivity will also share that that tipping point, was an inappropriate response if I'm not on the same topic,

Moe Jerant: 16:18

right? Right. That was a little embarrassing. Okay, a lot embarrassing.

Blaise Delfino: 16:25

So the instruments have connected you to this new hearing world. Now, being a musician, and you depend on your sense of hearing to do what you love to do what you're passionate about to share what you're passionate about, what would you say to fellow musicians who might not get their hearing tested on an annual basis, I mean, even musicians who do present with hearing loss, but aren't ready to take the next step towards better hearing,

Moe Jerant: 16:55

I've talked to a couple of them. And I am not shy in discussing the fact that I'm hearing loss, I'll I'll take the instruments out of my ears and go check this out, is this tiny little thing, it fits right in your ear? You don't even know what's there. But I have the conversation. That's kind of a summation of some of the things that we were just talking about, yeah. You know, what happens if and those kinds of things. And once I start that conversation with them, generally they kind of like, let their guard down. And then it actually becomes a conversation. And I'll say stuff like, well, if you're experiencing that, and you get instruments, it's all going to change, it's all going to change, you're going to be able to like you were saying, Dr. Delfino, you're going to go back to the way you remember hearing it. And you're it's really going to change in in a sense, for me, it changed a lot of confidence issues, and self esteem, and things like that.

Blaise Delfino: 17:52

Tell us more about that.

Moe Jerant: 17:54

Well, I'll kind of tell you something about that with like a little bit of a side story that leads that leads into the IEM's I for the longest time, my band was basically set up like all the rest of the bands, which means that when you go on stage, everybody's playing their own instruments, their own amplifiers, any kind of vocals or singing comes back at you on the stage from a speaker on the floor. Well, what was happening to me was my ears and my brain could not navigate those floor monitors successfully. And I left gigs, I was so cranky and so miserable. Because one of the things that happens and Blaise, I know you know, this from performing. One of the things that happens is once you get this connection with your audience going, it involves the PA. And so there's this energy that you're trying to get across to your audience and the translators, the PA. So if I'm singing, and I'm hearing something, and I'm not getting that translating factor from the PA, I know there's something wrong. So I, you know, I'm not hearing stuff the way I would like to

Blaise Delfino: 19:08

Sure.

Moe Jerant: 19:09

So what I ended up doing was talking to some people and I think you and I ended up getting into a conversation and I went to not using a stage monitor on the floor and I went to having that same information put in my ears. Total ball, Park changer just like getting instruments for the first time. The cool thing about that is I worked with you Blaise on that whole process.

Blaise Delfino: 19:35

Yep.

Moe Jerant: 19:35

And we put a custom idea together between you and I and the guy out at entertainment services.

Blaise Delfino: 19:41

Yes

Moe Jerant: 19:41

We put a custom idea together which he executed. And so now my equipment is already set up with my EQ totally pre programmed. So if I go into if I go work with somebody that I don't know, I can walk in with this with this gear. It's a plug me in and turn me on. And I don't have to rely on anybody to change my EQ,

Blaise Delfino: 20:05

Which is nice,

Moe Jerant: 20:06

Really nice

Blaise Delfino: 20:07

Because not everyone processes sound the same way, right? Especially audio engineers.

Moe Jerant: 20:11

Yes. And there's more technology that our sound company has taken on to the point that I can take my phone, I can open up my phone, I can go to the software that his mixer is using, and I can do my own mix on my phone.

Blaise Delfino: 20:28

That's that's personalization in and of itself.

Moe Jerant: 20:31

And the last thing that we did with with the unit itself with the with the wireless unit itself, was I bought a model that gave me kind of a stereo capability.

Blaise Delfino: 20:42

Okay

Moe Jerant: 20:42

So what, what they did at entertainment services was they set it up so that in one channel, I get the band. And then the other channel, I get just my vocal nice. And I can I have complete control over everything that's going on. And when I first got the in ear instruments that I had, I kept telling everybody, there's something wrong with these earpieces. Every time I hit my bass drum, it just crackles and, and I don't know what it is. I went out there and the guy worked with it at entertainment services, Nate, I drove him crazy for a day. He went in the bathroom. He's yelling into a microphone. He's like, I don't hear this. I don't hear this. What we ended up figuring out was the frequency response on those pieces wasn't wide enough.

Blaise Delfino: 21:30

So you're having clipping? Was it like, yeah, yeah,

Moe Jerant: 21:34

Yeah, it was horrible. It was it was to the point that I could barely get my kick drum in the mix in my ears. Without it

Blaise Delfino: 21:42

That'll drive you crazy.

Moe Jerant: 21:45

So I ended up, you know, he sent me some information, I did some research, and I upgraded the earbuds and I'm fine now.

Blaise Delfino: 21:50

But Moe I mean, sharing your story, you know, sharing your story and how important it is because we treat a lot of musicians and you are aggressive in the fact that this is what I have to do for my hearing sensitivity. Because your goal right now is I need to preserve the current hearing that I have my residual hearing. Of course, wearing hearing instruments or hearing aids to better communicate when I'm not performing. But you've implemented the use of in ear monitors for when you do perform, which are much better than stage monitors, because you're not leaving the show with temporary thresholds shift which is also that that ringing in your ears when you leave like a loud bar or a club or a live show. So it's nice to I'm sure go home, and your ears aren't ringing like they did with the floor monitors.

Moe Jerant: 22:40

And we got that right.

Blaise Delfino: 22:42

Wow. Dr. Delfino, we talk about evolution because in today's day and age, things are constantly changing. And of course, we are making sure that we are staying up to date with the most advanced hearing technology, but also the most advanced in your technology for our musicians, you've worked with copious amounts of musicians over the years. How important are in ear monitors for musicians?

Dr. Gregory Delfino: 23:53

They're really essential. I mean, you care about the instrument that you're playing the strings that you're using the drum heads, all those things, because you want the performance of the instrument to be exactly the way that it should be to your liking to your standards. The in ear monitors, not only do they protect the hearing that you have, but they bring to light, all of those nuances, those musical nuances that you need to hear that you want to hear that are essential to the, to your peak performance, they are a huge improvement. And I'm so happy to hear that you're using it so many more musicians now or are getting on board.

Moe Jerant: 24:32

We went to them in the whole band.

Blaise Delfino: 24:34

Good.

Moe Jerant: 24:34

I got really, really insistent. In fact, we're totally wireless, everything, all the instruments on the only live thing on stage anymore, cuz I just said, Look, let's do it like this. And our sound guy for like three years was like, you know, all the pro guys that are touring, when they show up here with these big trucks, they don't have big trucks anymore. And all those stacks of marshals. There's nothing in them. Yeah, they use processors.

Blaise Delfino: 24:59

It's amazing. I mean,

Moe Jerant: 25:00

I know right

Blaise Delfino: 25:01

When like right now being able to record this episode into our software where the only hardware we have is our our road caster, which is awesome, right. So there's so many the opportunities are endless. I'm curious to know how have the hearing instruments helped you improve your overall speech understanding in complex listening situations?

Moe Jerant: 25:24

Oh, tremendously, tremendously. It's almost hard to describe, because except to say maybe that it's like flipping a switch.

Blaise Delfino: 25:32

Wow

Moe Jerant: 25:32

It's there and it's not there. That was one of the difficulties that I had, even with the ear molds. Was that you know, I had this little thing that I would just take my thumb by my ear and spin the wheel and turn the volume up a little bit. And I would find myself doing that in situations of like crowds or restaurants or things like that where one of the most obvious signs of hearing losses presents itself, which is you hear more of those sounds more than you hear the people that are in close proximity or so I mean that that's been a game changer. And it's, it's incredible. It's just really incredible,

Blaise Delfino: 26:11

I guess, you know, for for us as hearing healthcare professionals to hear your success story, but to also be a part of it to us is a reminder of why we do what we do. Because we have the opportunity to connect you to this whole new hearing world. And it's a journey. I mean, Moe, you've been wearing hearing instruments for over 15 years, the journey. And I think this is important coming from you can you share with our listeners the importance of the understanding the concept that you know, hearing healthcare is the start of a new journey?

Moe Jerant: 26:43

Oh, my gosh, it is. And I've been since I've been wearing instruments for 15 years. And and this is actually going to talk about some of the things that I do with my drawing. One of the things that I researched pretty heavily before I started working with seniors was attributes of people that are in assisted living Alzheimer neighborhoods, dementia neighborhoods, there are a few select really good books on what to look for, when you're working with those people. Because it's if you don't think about it, you're going to miss a lot. So one of the things is decreased hearing. And then that's going to leave people in a space where if they don't do anything about it, their sociability is going to like backstab. And they're going to be more, they're going to be quiet all the time. So in reading some of that stuff, I integrated that into a lot of the programs that I did. And I specifically when I would when I'd be working with seniors, I would specifically go around to everybody that was there and say, Hello, tell me your name, direct eye to eye contact, if they couldn't hear, I would adapt to them, and just do that whole thing. And it makes it makes a difference. Because I go into that understanding from a personal perspective, what that's really like, and so to take that concept and and look at that, from my own world, it's really necessary to stay on top of that stuff.

Blaise Delfino: 28:12

Absolutely.

Moe Jerant: 28:13

It really is because I'm, I'm aging

Blaise Delfino: 28:15

Us too, we all are!

Moe Jerant: 28:17

Yeah, and and there's things that I'm noticing that I'm doing, and one of the things you mentioned was how I how I am without my instruments. People don't like me. You know, because yeah, and and it's hard to explain to people that I don't want to be wearing these pieces, 24 hours a day, right? The last time I did, I was in the hospital, I had my knee replaced, and I felt like I really needed to do that, you know, but when I'm home, it's like, Okay, time to go to bed, take them out. And then in the morning, I forget, I start walking around. And the next thing you know, I'm like what, huh? Or something even when I'm wearing my instruments, some people have this tendency to say something to you turn their head. And if you ask them a question, they don't turn back to you. They'll talk to the wall.

Blaise Delfino: 29:10

Yeah, it's not recommended no. Even with wearing hearing instruments. Moe, I'd like to expand on what you were saying in terms of working at the senior centers and with the individual the residents there. When we talk about untreated hearing loss, there are different comorbidities linked to untreated hearing loss, such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, or dementia of the Alzheimer's type, social isolation, depression. That's the reason why we host this podcast is to discuss best practices, hearing technology, raising awareness, of the importance of visiting a hearing healthcare professional. Moe, how important is it for individuals to get their hearing tested every year, especially for musicians?

Moe Jerant: 29:55

You can't stress it enough. You can't, you just can't. And the reason that I would say it like that is again, from my own experience, I was thinking about this because it was on the list of questions. You get to this space, that you get comfortable with your instruments and how everything's working out in your world and how you're relating to people and everything's cool. And you forget that you're still losing things or things are changing, and you need somebody to look at.

Blaise Delfino: 30:24

Yeah.

Moe Jerant: 30:25

And so, you know, even though you know, you get into that space where like, I'm good, don't worry about me, everything's fine. And then you come in and have you know, like a hearing checkup and it's like, well, you're okay and but you got to watch so highly recommended.

Blaise Delfino: 30:41

And we see you almost once a quarter we make sure that we see you at least twice a year. For your annual hearing evaluation, and then your six month clean and check just to make sure that the hearing aids are functioning how they should. Moe, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your story on the Hearing Matters Podcast. Are there any last minute thoughts you'd like to share with our listeners?

Moe Jerant: 31:03

Don't doubt yourself. If you think you have a hearing issue, even if it's a little tiny one, please come in and get somebody to look at it or check it out, have a test, do what's necessary and make the changes in your life so that if you're younger, you have the capability to learn well, if you're kind of in that middle phase in your life, you have the ability to navigate relationships with people. And as you head into older age, you don't backslide into social isolation. And have any of those other things happen, because I can tell you this, one of the reasons that my programs with seniors are so successful is because I do that one to one with them. And I directly connect with every single one of them in the room.

Blaise Delfino: 31:51

Absolutely.

Moe Jerant: 31:52

And it matters. It's eye contact. It's it's being there. So if they can't hear they hear, and it's just sat thing and it's if they volunteer call on, let him let him get involved.

Blaise Delfino: 32:03

Getting involved. Yeah, you're tuned into the Hearing Matters Podcast with Dr. Gregory Delfino, and Blaise Delfino of Audiology Services and Fader Plugs. Today, we had Moe Jerant from the Large Flower Heads join us on the show. She is a professional musician and currently wears hearing aids and has for over 15 years. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are on an iPhone or an Android, head on over to Instagram, give us a follow Hearing Matters Podcast on Instagram, like us on Facebook. And if you listen to us on Apple podcast, write a positive review. Thanks again for listening to the Hearing Matters Podcast until next time, hear life's story