Country recording artist and three-time Grammy winner, Trisha Yearwood to partner with Starkey Hearing Foundation in media campaign and public service announcements to educate consumers about responsible listening.

“Hearing is such a critical part of being a musician,” Yearwood said. “I’ve seen so many great artists struggle with hearing loss that I had to be part of bringing this issue into the spotlight. No one should have to struggle to hear.

People are losing their hearing two-and-a-half times faster than their parents and grandparents, due largely to sustained overexposure to loud sound,” said Gyl Kasewurm, Doctor of Audiology. “And in another 40 years, nearly 50 million people in the U.S. could be hearing impaired. Those numbers are just unacceptable, especially when this type of hearing loss is largely preventable. “People simply aren’t listening to audiologists when we tell them that they get one set of ears and they better protect them! That’s why this campaign is so important.”

Through the “Don’t Say What?” program, the Starkey Hearing Foundation aims to bring one of the audiology community’s most critical issues to the forefront of consumer awareness by educating them about the effects of the misuse of popular electronic devices, such as MP3 players, Bluetooth headsets and cell phones. The campaign will also address how live noise, such as amplified music at concerts and loud machinery used for road work, can impair hearing.