Announcing: Talking Ears - Season 3 !
Sometimes it is good to pause, take stock, and look back at where we started. Reflecting on the last two years of Talking Ears - presenting in-depth discussions about music (and sometimes even ears/hearing) - makes us truly value this opportunity we have. This show is a chance for us to share ideas that have the potential to create a lasting impact for others. Protect your music career and hearing! Care about your ears! Enjoy all the aspects of sound! Yes, including the sometimes spicy flavor of loudness.
All about the music
This show traces its origins back to the “Sound Profiles” series, first published seven years ago. The presentation appropriately transitioned from a written format to an acoustic medium; after all, what better way to talk about music and musicians than to hear their music and voices? Producing a professional-sounding podcast is a lot of work, and subsequently the production team has grown as well. Juan Vasquez joined the show as a producer and quickly moved into his role behind the microphone as the show’s co-host. Scott Hallam provided the original theme music (which I simply adore) and has since taken on additional audio editing duties. Mary Kim has taken an increasingly active and vital role in content and quality checking of each episode. Finally, our new show graphics have been crafted by none other than Bryan Hallam, a design extraordinaire famous (to me specifically) for creating the Earmark logo and branding I enjoy everyday. The entire Talking Ears production team is honored to continue the work of presenting insightful conversations about music and what our sense of hearing means from the voices of our guests. We are guided by the simple notion that music is at the heart of the show, music gives context to musician’s stories, and music is the reason we champion hearing wellness and auditory injury prevention.
And now… Season 3!
Marking this anniversary, Talking Ears Season 3 begins today with a fresh and updated new look, as well as the first episode of a dedicated series aiming the proverbial spotlight onto the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA). In this series of upcoming episodes, we will hear from presenters and attendees from the recent 2024 conference including: researcher and educator, Colleen LePrell; speech scientist and hearing loss preventionist, Don Finan; university professor and clinical audiologist, Cory Portnuff; and musician and music audiologist, Caleb Kronen.
To kick off this series, we have a specially-formatted episode focused on the recent 2024 conference and five inspiring audiology graduate students. From UT Dallas, Conner Jansen, Allison Woodford, Emily Myers, and Azalea Coste share their research project poster presentations and reflect on their experience of their first NHCA conference. From Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, NHCA conference award winner, Brynn Stevens talks about her experience as a musician and how that passion led her to pursue a career in audiology. (She also used to host a radio show, and takes us part-time podcasters to school with her professional vocal delivery and mic technique.) Past guest and friend of the show, Brendan Fitzgerald joins Juan and Frank to recap the conference and NHCA as an organization. We also discuss the bright future ahead in the field of music audiology.
Posters discussed in this episode:
Fit testing results and training outcomes: Effects of training on personal attenuation rating for uniform fit earplugs
Presented By: Conner Jansen, Amanda Duren and Colleen Le Prell
The Use of In-Ear Dosimetry to Understand Musician’s Unique Sound Exposure (MUSE)
Presented By: Allison Woodford, Colleen Le Prell, Heather Malyuk, and Emily Myers
The Education Level, Promotion, and Attitudes Towards the Wearing of Hearing Protection Devices by High School Band Directors
Presented By: Emily Myers, and Colleen Le Prell
Acoustic Properties of High-Fidelity Hearing Protection Devices and Music Quality Perception
Presented By: Azalea Coste
Reflection and Requesting
Podcasts such as ours are labor intensive and require uncountable hours by a dedicated team. We’ve presented over 20 unique auditory perspectives from music makers, sound engineers, researchers, and hearing healthcare providers. Throughout this effort, we consider ourselves fortunate to get a front row seat to hear this music and learn from these experts and riveting stories. Though we are a team of audiologist, this production deepens our appreciation for hearing and helps us (re)discover how invaluable the perception of sound is. In a very special way, these conversations have contributed to the realization that our experience with hearing can give life meaning.
If you value these conversations as much as we do and would like to support the show, please consider donating. With funding, we can bring more and higher quality episodes to your ears! Your support would directly go to editing costs, guest logistics, and bonus features such as extended interviews and resources. Please email Frank@earmarkhc.com to inquire.
Of course, there are other very impactful ways to support the show.
Leave a review on your apple podcasts or wherever you listen to the show. These reviews really matter and help get the show in front of listeners who may be interested in the content.
Continue listening and share the show with anyone you think would enjoy or benefit from it!
Most Sincerely,
Juan Vasquez and Frank Wartinger