Change Your Brain Every Day - The Neuroscience of Hearing: What You Don’t Hear Can Hurt Your Brain

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

In this must-listen episode, Dr. Amen and Tana Amen sit down with Brandon Salawich, President and CEO of Starkey, the largest U.S.-based hearing aid manufacturer, to explore the critical link between hearing and brain health. They uncover how hearing loss isn’t just about missing sounds—it’s a major risk factor for dementia, depression, and relationship struggles. You’ll also discover surprising causes of hearing issues, including why 1 in 6 teenagers are already experiencing hearing loss. If you want to protect your brain, start by protecting your hearing—tune in to learn how. 00:00 Intro 01:01 Hearing & The Brain 01:45 Sponsor 03:03 Hearing is One of the Major Functions of the Brain 06:26 Hearing & Stigma 08:23 Can Your Brain Forget Sounds? 09:16 Overstimulation 10:08 Brandon’s Story 13:31 The Impact of Hearing Loss on the Brain 14:56 Overcoming Vulnerability 17:43 The Causes of Memory Loss 19:41 Damage Elimination 21:56 The Future of Hearing Augmentation/Automatic Translation 25:30 Brands 27:05 Hearing & AI Technology 28:45 Comfort 29:57 Hearing Sound for the First Time 40:16 Superpowered Hearing 46:31 Sponsor 46:54 Wrap Up   Starkey.com Listencarefully.com

Whether it's a 12 year old boy, 14 year old girl, doesn't matter, or a mom, they've never heard, never heard sound. And you put a hearing aid in, and you turn that volume on. And you see, I mean, you see it in the eye, as I mentioned earlier, you see it in the eyes. And I don't care who you are, you know, I'm not crying, you're crying.

I mean, just forget it, because they heard their child's voice for the first time, or they heard their mom or dad or somebody's voice for the first time. That makes it all worthwhile. I don't care what my title is, what I do. That's rewarding, that's why I do what I do. And that's my favorite story,

is seeing that, because it's addicting. Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse. Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better every day. In this week's episode on the Change Your Brain Everyday podcast, Tana and I welcome Brandon Salowich. Brandon is the CEO of Starkey, a world leader in manufacturing and delivering advanced hearing solutions. Hearing is key to our health and happiness. Being able to hear the people and world around us is as essential to the human experience as breathing. This episode will cover the continuous innovation of the science, design, and production of

hearing aids and brain health. I hope you enjoy this week's episode. Hi, I'm Dr. Daniel Lehmann. I've experienced firsthand the powerful impact that proper supplementation can have on your brain, your body, and your mind. That's why I founded BrainMD. Our formulas are scientifically created from decades of clinical research designed to help you think clearer, feel better, and improve every aspect of your health. Whether it's Brain and Body Power Max, the same formula I used in the world's largest study of NFL players to optimize brain performance, to happy saffron, to boost mood and memory, and pro brain biotics max to improve the gut

brain connection. BrainMD delivers the highest quality science-backed solutions to help you think and feel better. Tana and I take many of our products every day. And as a special offer, just for our listeners, you can save 20% on your next order. Visit brainmd.com and use the code podcast20. With a better brain, always comes a better life. Today on the podcast, we're joined by Brandon Suwalich, the president and CEO of Starkey, a global leader in hearing innovation. I actually

have their hearing aids in so I can hear. Brandon's dedicated over 30 years to the hearing industry, over 30 years to the hearing industry, leading Starkey's transformation into a pioneer of cutting edge technology with integrated sensors, AI and health solutions. And when I first met him through Dave Asprey, Dave is actually on our board and I was complaining about my hearing because I hate saying what a lot and he's like, yeah, Dr. Brandon. And we were actually in Yosemite Park when we connected. And, you know, why are we talking about hearing on a brain podcast? Because hearing is one of the major functions of the brain. And when you don't hear you miss a lot. And it's chronic stress.

I would argue that it also affects relationships because just had to do it. No, seriously. I mean, not when you love someone and you can't, you know, you're not communicating clearly and it's, you know, you like, I know it's kind of funny, but I'll say something and you'll say what, and then I'll say it again and you'll say what what, I'll say it louder, and you say what. And so, I'll say it really loud, and then you're like, why are you yelling at me? And it's like this thing that we do, or he misses half of what I'm saying sometimes, and that's hard. And I think with a lot of people, it tends to maybe, I mean, for us, we're really good about communicating, but that can create some division, I think, for some people. Yeah.

Part of the conversation I'd have is how many watts do you say a day? Yeah. Because hearing is essential. Hearing is healthcare. And when, you know, what we provide is technology that helps, you know, when we talked and we were just brainstorming and I, you know, calling you on your vacation, but you took the call and you were driving through Yosemite and just having the conversation. It's, you know, connects people with people. It is healthcare. And what we

do is not just technology, but people think of hearing aids as a, you know, the hardware, the, you know, the device and it's a misperception. It's a stigma. So, you know. Dr. John B. Yeah. Exactly. Dr. John B. For many years, it's why I didn't wear a hearing aid. Dr. John B. Yeah. Exactly. Dr. John B. Because it meant I was defective. It meant I was old. And it's an outside symbol.

Dr. John B. Right. Dr. John B. Of illness. Dr. John B. And you said right there, you thought you were old. And you're not, it helps you with your daily life, not just with relationships, but what you're doing professionally, your family, your everything in life. Like I can't even tell you how, like for me, I'm going to make sure he hears what I have to say, but the kids, I can't tell you how many times a day they're like, never mind. And they walk away.

Right. That's not, you know, that's not helpful in a relationship. And over time, you don't even know you're doing it. Right. You don't know what you're missing and you don't know what because you've kind of just you just you just blank it out until you rediscover some sounds or getting reconnected. And I had a patient who had a very soft voice and it was very important to me I did a good job and I was very upset with myself that I hadn't taken care of the hearing problem because I wasn't as good as a psychiatrist because I didn't hear everything. And so I think this is so important. It's important to mental health

because when you can't hear, you become more isolated, you become more depressed and you actually become more paranoid. Exactly. And you withdraw, you go inward. And I have many stories and you and I, when we first spoke and several times afterwards, a lot of people and,

you know, whether you're a celebrity CEO, all the way, it doesn't matter who it is, what your title is, they, when they can't hear or they've experienced like what you're experiencing now, and they, something happens and they lost a hearing aid or they, you know, they, I don't want to say panic, but it's urgent. It's a priority because they understand how that reconnection got them back to whether again, their family or help them perform. Musicians that we take care of especially. And you go inward and you start withdrawing and from conversations, holidays, you name it.

And it does help, you know, improve your mental health. It's a superpower. That's why I call it what we do is, you know, as I was talking, you know, Dave Asprey is, you know, what I like to think about is what we're providing is giving people a superpower just to make them a little bit better each and every day. Well, I have a question. I don't know if this is true or not, but I had heard that if you stop hearing certain sounds or certain words over a long period of time,

the brain starts to forget that word. Is that true? So that would actually have an impact on cognitive function. Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, the simple things, you know, we hear, I hear it all the time is, you know, whether, you know, in Minneapolis where our global headquarters are, and we have people from local residents to world leaders come in just because they need help. And one of the things we hear all the time, what was that? And it was paper rustling, or it was the leaves outside or things that they forgot. And you know, there's other things too, it's that they just had forgotten about.

And it's, and when I say get reconnected, that's what they're reconnected with, is sounds of life. Well, this is, this fortunately we've been successful this time with your hearing aids. We've tried in the past, other hearing aids, not successful because when he put them in, he started to hear way too much. It was too loud. Something, it was like overstimulation. And we have five girls in the house. And he was like, this is what I've been like, he just freaked out, ripped him out of his ears

through them. He's like, I'd rather not hear anything. So that's what we do because everybody hears different. Everybody hears different. We do not want to put anybody in a box. You know, it's like a thumbprint. Your hearing and ear is different than mine. And so what we're doing is advancing and pushing technology to the edge of what is possible and making sure that it adapts to what you want and what you need

and that you can adjust it. So that our audience knows, tell us for a couple of minutes about you and how you got involved in this, not only business, but passion for you. Well, my grandmother started in the hearing industry in 1959. And she opened her hearing aid practice back when, quite frankly, a bank or anybody wouldn't give her a loan because she was female. She went to her dad and she was an entrepreneur back in 1959. And then my parents and my mother got in the business

in 1983. And I've been around it. So, I've grown up in the industry. And the last thing I was going to do was going to be in the hearing aid business. What? Because I didn't quite understand. I was going to be an astronaut. I wanted to do something cool. But I had to be really good at math and that wasn't really my passion either. So, I went to one year of college. I went up to Minnesota for the summer of 94 for just a summer intern job at Starkey and did everything from repair to ear molds to just basic entry level intern, and I was going to apply and apply to the University of Minnesota. And then I loved it. I started, I really, because I felt like I had a responsibility and purpose. And I said, well, I'll wait a semester, then a skip year. Well, 30 skip years later, I just love the people and then what you can see and what you can do and what I do in various jobs at Starkey,

changing people's lives because you can see it in their eyes. You know, yes, there's the business side they have to be responsible for and all that fun stuff that comes with it. But what fuels me is, you know, being able to, you know, think about the possibilities of new technology and helping people get reconnected. Because when you see that, you see it in their eyes. You see it in their eyes and it's addicting. Well, and it's, it's so much easier. Like I'll notice it, like we'll be talking. I won't notice whether or not at first he has his hearing aids in, but then I'm like, wait, okay, he doesn't have them in.

Cause this is like, the conversation is a little harder today. So I'll look over and I'm like, do you have your hearing aids in? Cause it's, you know, I don't even, I don't even really notice them, but I do notice if the conversation is harder or not. And what's really funny is I had to learn, like I'm still learning to now bring my voice down because you have to get used to speaking louder when you're with someone who doesn't hear well.

And that's kind of frustrating because then you don't know when you're out if you're speaking loud or not. It's sort of an odd thing. So now I'm learning to speak at a normal volume again. Right. Because you start enunciating a little bit and by just by habit. And I've seen that and, you know, I didn't want to be CEO of Starkey.

That wasn't my goal or ambition. My goal and ambition was to carry on what Starkey is about and our values and helping people. Right. And then, you know, I found my purpose and then found the purpose and then everything followed soon. Yeah, it's gotta feel great to see people be able to communicate better again.

So let's talk about the impact of hearing loss on the brain because the brain really is use it or lose it. And if it's not getting appropriate input to the auditory centers, they can begin to atrophy and wither. Tell me what you know about this. Well, you're the expert, but what I know is that, you know, I like to think of we're exercising the brain. We're feeding the brain. And as we discussed

prior to, you know, with hearing loss, you have some blanks that are missing because of the sound, meaning that whether you're missing sound, it also impacts balance. We talked about because impacts balance we talked about because you feel you hear normally your feet on the carpet. People that can't hear that, it does affect balance and other things. So, what we do and what I like, what I know we do is this is just the device. But what we're providing is a technology that's improving and exercising the brain and making it as best as we can for the person and their individual needs. How do you help people sort of get over themselves? Right?

Because I'm even feeling a bit vulnerable and vain. Right? Talking about I don't really want to have hearing aids and I don't want to have this problem, you know It is a psychiatrist People don't want to see psychiatrist. They don't have depression and though they're wildly depressed How have you helped sort of decrease The stigma we have to talk about it differently. We have to think differently. We have to be optimistic where it's a positive. It's helping you perform and be the best that you could be every day. The stigma has been decades, right? Look at the media, look at movies.

Usually when you see hearing aids in movies, there's an old person and it's squealing and they have the big, you know, a full shell. It looks like a piece of bubble gum right in their ear. That's not hearing technology today. Even the most advanced hearing technology of what we're doing and others, they have old pictures of hearing aids. And that's not what it is. That's 20, 30 years ago.

No. And if you think about it, they probably have to do that because you wouldn't even see it otherwise. You wouldn't know that in a movie, they want you to see the hearing aid for a reason. So they have to use something big and they're increasing the stigma though. And their intentions, you know, what in their mind are good to try and get it out or information, but they're actually hurting people because people need hearing help, as I said, for whatever it is in their daily life.

And they see that picture and like, I don't wanna be seen with that. Well, and as like, as someone who's with someone who, is benefiting from hearing aids, I can see why that would bother someone. Cause as someone who wears needs glasses or as someone who has to take medication cause I had cancer, I can see why that would bother someone. Because as someone who wears, needs glasses, or as someone who has to take medication because I had cancer,

I can see why that would bother you. But as someone on the other side of it, I would so much rather. Well, and if you thought of it like glasses. Which is like. Which is exactly what it's like. Yeah. Right? When my son needed glasses, he wouldn't wear them.

Right. Because he didn't like the stigma associated with it. But most adults who need glasses, it's like, it's not a big deal. Right. Get the coolest looking glasses. Right. Get several pairs to match the outfits and the colors. And what was that you always say about the 18, 40, 60 rule? That when you're 18, you worry about what everybody's thinking of you. When you're 40, you don't give a damn what anybody thinks about you.

And when you're 60, you realize no one has been thinking about you at all. People spend their days worrying and thinking about themselves, not you. They don't care. Right. So yes. And of course, nobody cares. Let's talk about the causes of hearing loss. Loud noise. Absolutely. So, yeah, maybe mine. Although I have a horrible story,

I think I'll tell it. So I was in the army. And I was around a lot of loud noises, especially when I was in basic training and when I trained to be an infantry medic. And so I think I went into my adult years with some hearing loss, although mine tends to be high hearing loss. But I went through a period of time, actually before we met, of grief. And I was really not well for like six months. And I remember I didn't like my thoughts. So I'd turn up the music.

So I'd drown out my thoughts. And I think that along with one Tony Robbins seminar where he got us to sit up front and the music was so loud. I'm like, this is not a good thing for me. We recently went to a Journey concert, which was awesome. It's not a good thing to like know the performers because they sent you up front, which is damaging. Because I could just feel it was not good for my neurons.

Yeah. So, you know, yes, loud noises, genetics, medication, numerous things can, you know, cause that hearing loss. And it can be, some can be sudden hearing loss. Medication is a major factor in other worlds, because we help others through our Starkey Hearing Foundation, who in Africa, Mexico, couldn't afford hearing aids.

And it's simple infection that there's no treatment. And one of the first things is the hearing. But for us, what we're doing, and you mentioned protection, you know, we've got, we know the patient. There's five hearing companies in the world. Starkey is the only US owned, operated. We have the most experience.

We know the patient and we're privately held. So we can do what's best for the patient. So we do what's best for the patient, our customer and Starkey. That's my priority. And so we can, we have the technology to help fill the gaps, get people back, you know, I like, you know, positive mental wellbeing and thinking and getting them engaged, but also the protection. So that's the other side. So our largest customer is the VA. And I've told, I've had many meetings in DC, and part of it is to educating on solutions,

but also hearing protection, because think about the military, whether you're using FOMIs or cotton, you can't hear. And I've said to many is like, I hope in 10 years the VA is not our largest customer, because we've started in what I wanted several years ago, started hearing protection where it's a device that you have situational awareness where it does, you can hear sound, it's not plugged, it's a device. And then instantly, if there's a loud blast, gunfire, something, it suppresses. It cuts it out.

LS- Seriously? That's brilliant. You make that now? RS- Sound gear. Yes. Yes, we make it now. And quite frankly, we're working with the Department of Defense because they're interested. Because what's, if you look at the Veterans Administration, number one, number two issues with the veterans is tinnitus and hearing loss. That's wild. And so, and tinnitus comes from damage to the hair cells and the cochlea. But making something that actually shuts, like shuts it down instantly. That's amazing. So yes, hunters and there's a lot of first responders. We're working in many states now, but there's a lot that can be done with that. And people just don't know it. It's just education and

getting it out there. What do you think the future of hearing loss treatment is going to be? I think that what we're doing and what's gonna happen, it's gonna be your personal assistant. It's gonna be what? Personal assistant. It's the first time I said what, so. One. But I think it'll be your personal assistant.

I'm, you know, I like it because my son, who's now 18, but we're up watching Marvel and all that. Think of it as Jarvis of Iron Man. I think it'll be your personal assistant. It'll give you the information and think about instant translation. If you think around the world, one of the biggest blockers is language, right? People understanding people. The world needs to listen a little bit more now. And so think about what was Star Trek in the 60s. Think about it, you know, coming out in the years ahead. Think about you can do heart rate, you can do blood oxygen,

you can, you know, right now we already have a lot of health features in our products. We're the only ones that have integrated sensors in our hearing aids that talk about, or excuse me, that'll provide for fall detection. It will provide for reminders. It'll, you know, kind of the ears, the new wrist. So it'll track your walk. That's wild. Wait, are you saying it's going to translate? We translate now. We translate right now in 72 languages. So you're saying like, instead of Google translate translate that I use now, it's going to like hear someone and translate. We partner with Google. So there's a middle intermediate,

I'll say a couple of second delay. But what I'm talking about is instant translation where you're talking. That's wild. Yes. So that's like traveling. That's just opens up a whole new universe. So it's not a hearing aid. It's a personal system. That's crazy. So it's really here tech that's designed for you as your own personal system and nobody can see it. That's where I think it's going. Well, that's where I'm pretty sure confidence going. Because it's again, you know, could the VA, I hear it all the time because it's an aging population. You know, you've got 450 million around the world with hearing loss and 45 million,

million around the world with hearing loss and 45 million, 47 million here in the US, very low penetration because of the stigma, which for me, I want to make hearing aids cool. I want to get, I want to change the conversation and people are like, oh, your business is going to be great. I'm not worried about that. I want to do what's right to help people. And like I said, with the VA, I don't want them to be our largest. do what's right to help people. And like I said, with the VA, I don't want them to be our largest. What can we do to help in other areas? It goes back to the purpose. Now you got every designer in the world making glasses for people. So they're cool. Yeah.

You know? Yep. We had Steve Aoki here and I said, I want you to help me make brain health cool. And you want to make hearing. Yes. Hey, it's cool. You want to make it cool. And you want to make hearing aids cool. Rather than hearing aids, maybe hearing personal assistance. Dr. Justin Marchegiani, M.D. Yeah. Because everybody's using things on their ear nowadays where it's really social.

Dr. Julie Kinn Right. You're already wearing, you know, the AirPods and the, so, I mean, you said two things that are just really cool, translating and where it actually shuts down, I mean, you said two things that are just really cool, translating and where it actually shuts down, you know, noise. Yes. So, one question people are going to ask is Amazon and Apple are now in the hearing aid business and for something that's less expensive, you know, why not do that as opposed to something as powerful and personal as Starkey? Well, I welcome Apple and others because it brings awareness. I think it's great.

I think what, and we work with Apple. We're very close because our hearing aids, as you know, you know, will connect with your phone and, you know, you can be talking through your hearing aid on a phone call and people might think, you know, you're talking to yourself, but, you know, to do what we're talking about, you're talking about investment in technology R&D to get it done. What's out there right now, I'm not saying others won't, but it's amplification and it's a feature.

So you can amplify things. And one thing, you know, whether it's a different type of device in your ear that looks like an air pod, I'm not going to be in a meeting with a customer wearing those because people don't understand it yet. It might look disrespectful, but there's certain points and certain moments you need that. So it's an option. I mean, you know, air pods have tried amplification before. Yes. And I was just irritated. No, what we're doing right now is I'm not irritated with these. Are these more personalized to you? Yes. Okay. Because everything,

so there's over the counter options that have been out for now two years, which is what others do for amplification. And that's fine. Because quite frankly, what it does is it's like buying readers versus getting a prescription. Yes, exactly. Okay. And so what fine. Because quite frankly, what it does is somebody- So it's like buying readers versus getting a prescription class. Yes, exactly. And so what somebody's doing is raising their hands. And somebody's raising their hands and say, I need help. So that's the first step. Because usually it's about seven years because of the stigma before somebody does anything about their hearing loss. And so what we're doing now with our technologies is we use AI, we're about our seventh generation

since 2017, we were the first in the industry with advanced technology that's your hearing aid for you, designed for you, is listening and adjusting to the environment. And what you wanna hear and basically programmed kind of like an equalizer to simplify things, but also more advanced friendly AI, as I like to say, it's not eavesdropping or anything,

but from wind noise to background noise, and really the app, our mobile app for our products, it's a product with itself because you can adjust what environment you're in, restaurant, loud sounds, quiet, whatever it might be. And then the hearing aid will adapt to it. Well, this is the only one I've seen stick so far. We've gone through what four or five things and they haven't worked and it's so. Yeah, it's gotta be, you know, what you're comfortable with. But the other thing what a lot of people don't realize is the stigma, it's the feel.

We have to design. So you look at the products you mentioned earlier, and there's many out there, cheap, cheap products. We have to design something that people wear for 14 hours a day. Forget they're wearing it. Can't feel it. Right. Well, and some of them aren't so cheap. No, but if, you know, a lot of them, you know, whether they stick out or battery life. So, we have the longest lithium, we use lithium ions. So, we have the longest battery life

at 51 hours. Oh, nice. So, and others, you know, we know this, hairspray, sweat, rain, water. Ours is a hundred percent waterproof. I don't use hairspray. Yeah, yeah, I'm good too. But you know, so there's a lot of things that go into it that you don't, that, you know, people don't recognize for it to be, you know, people don't recognize for it to be, you know, personalized to you and successful.

So how to make hearing aids cool. I'm thinking about it. What else should we ask you? I've been thinking about one thing. Stories drive me. I love stories. I think that's why I'm a psychiatrist. Because I love the stories. What's your favorite story about how Starkey's helped someone?

You know, it goes back to really, I've been to several, there's the business side. And, you know, we've got a great team of over 5,000 employees. And I love what I do. There's the, there's a Starkey Hearing Foundation, there's a separate 501C3. And I've had the opportunity since 1997 to go on several, many of what we call our hearing mission trips. And these are people that, you know, there isn't a hearing professional around nor would they have the means to. So let's say Kenya, Zambia, you know, countries in Africa.

We've set up sustainable models where we have now professionals, we train them. But you go there, my favorite story and why I do what I do, because I could go into, you know, others, whether it's a celebrity or somebody local in Minnesota. But whether it's a 12 year old boy, 14 year old girl, a 14 year old girl, doesn't matter, or a mom, and you put a hearing aid, they've never heard, never heard sound. And it's not because they're deaf, because many people think, oh, hearing aids are deaf. No, if you're deaf, you're deaf. You won't hear, right. So it's just that they had an infection at some age or something, you know, something

happened and people thought they were deaf and don't, they had no hope. And you put a hearing aid in and you turn that volume on. And you see, I mean, you see it in the eye, as I mentioned earlier, you see it in the eyes. And I don't care who you are, you know, I'm not crying, you're crying. I mean, it just, forget it because they heard their child's voice for the first time or they heard their mom or dad or somebody's voice for the first time. That makes it all worthwhile. I don't care what my title is, what I do. That's rewarding.

That's why I do what I do. And that's my favorite story is seeing that because it's addicting. So I said, because that's when you know you can help people. I love that so much. That's really cool. How can people learn more? Starkey.com. I mean, that's, you know, it's, you know, we, we sell through hearing healthcare professionals.

So we don't sell directly to the public. It's a medical device. So, on our website, it's just more information and listen to- And how to get connected to someone in their area. Yes. Yes. We have, I'll say, our providers that we know and trust. We have the largest, I'll say, provider network really in the US since we're US based. We're trusted, quality products, and it's educational. I mean, really not selling anything. And if they want to go learn more, they can through a provider in their local area. ListenCarefully.com is a kind of a subset. And so- I'm sorry, say that again.

ListenCarefully.com. So, there's many ways and it's just really educating because there's nothing wrong. Again, we're really in, we're a technology company. We're not hearing a company. You know, this is one of many, you know, I'll say it's a hardware and so small. I wear it probably because I want people to ask about it. You know, my friend, Damon John wears his and they're red. He wants fire engine red because he wants people to ask about it. He thinks it's cool. Well, that's kind of a way to make it cool.

Yeah. You know, you have different colors to match your outfits. Like that's kind of cool. Yeah. And it doesn't mean, you know, we use the terms hearing loss as like, I have a disability. I want to find a solution and I want something that's going to make me just a little bit better. And even if I have a hearing loss, this can give me just a little bit more of a boost in my, you know, daily job with my family, whatever it might be. And with all the other features with, you know, Bluetooth and connectivity.

If it connects with your phone. Yeah. I could be listening to music right now. You wouldn't know it. So I have one question. That could be a bad thing, though, because you wouldn't know it. I was just thinking, what's the opposite of what? Right, because I say what?

The opposite of what? Wow. I understand. Yeah. It's connection. Exact connecting people with people. That's our purpose. So I have one question. So like with AirPods, I know one concern that I have with wearing them, I wear them sometimes because if I'm busy my phone, I don't want to have

to mess with my phone. But I sometimes I'm concerned about the amount of radiation or whatever it is I'm getting, the stimulation I'm getting. How much stimulation are you getting or radiation are you getting from? Great question. I get that and Dave Asprey and I talked about it. It would take 76 hearing aids to equal the amount of a cell phone. That for me would be a huge selling point.

So it's very, very, very, very middle. It's nothing. That would be, that alone would be huge. So I'd be promoting it based on that. If they connect to a phone. We're very mindful. People are the bottom line at Starkey. You know, yes, it's business

and you have to have a healthy company to invest in tomorrow, but it's about the people and being privately held. Don't have to answer to the stockholders. I got one stockholder is still the owner founders who's still there. And right now he's a very vibrant 82. He's going tomorrow to the or this week to the Dominican Republic on a mission. That's what he wants to do.

He he helps people every day. And he goes, if you need something, let me know. I never want to look at a P&L again. You'll tell me if I need to. You know, I mean, that's, he's, you know, as you said. He's reached that stage. He's reached that stage. He's been there, done that.

He didn't start Starkey to be a CEO. He started Starkey because he was in 1961, started selling hearing aids, helping people here. And he wasn't happy with the service he was getting from other manufacturers on the repairs and stuff. So, he started his own repair lab in the basement of his home in Hopkins, Minnesota. So, one of those American success stories, entrepreneurial, you know, and just hadn't, you know, didn't get it into build a empire, just kind of fell into it and learned it. Did it because he wanted to do it. He wanted to do it because he was going to the U of M to be a doctor and in, in med school. And he saw the same thing, how much, you know,

he could help people through hearing in their daily life. And as he would say to us out in their eyes and you know, he just found his purpose and kept at it. Love it so much. So the name of the podcast is Change Your Brain Every Day. And hearing aids change your brain every day. Because if you're not hearing properly, you're not getting the stimulation, atrophy happens. And we haven't talked about it, but actually can actually increase your risk of dementia. Yes, again. We touched on it, but we didn't really get into it. The five senses, right? And if you think of hearing, it keeps your brain active.

You got it, you know, engaged. You know, one of our features in our app for our hearing aid is, you know, we can, somebody can track how much activity somebody's using or using their hearing aid daily along if they choose their family member. So they're staying engaged. They're hearing the words. They're staying active because what happens and this has been, you know, somewhat I think in the past that I could say this, Bob Hope, I think you and I talked about it. You know, he would, you know, there'd be parties

later towards the end of his years was not engaged. Because over time, because of the stigma then, because hearing aids were big and bulky and it was different, you know, he wasn't engaged. And you go just that isolation. And I won't speak for him for depression, but it's the same thing. It's like, you just feel out of touch and you can't hear. And you don't, how many times do you want to say what? How much do you feel a burden? So, there's so much more to it. So much, especially false. We talked about false. I mean, false is a big thing, especially later in life and hearing does help you with your balance. That's really interesting.

Well, I hear so many things I never hear before, like water running. Right. Like it's so loud. Well, I didn't want to say it, but one of the most common thing I hear is, wow, the toilet flushing. Yeah. Well, I'm constantly telling him, please turn off your blinker. I wouldn't hear it like an explode. Yeah. Right.

Well, and I'm constantly telling him things like, please turn off your blinker. You know, because he doesn't notice it. Right. Now he notices it. Yes. So yeah, the blinkers and it's those little noises that you just forget. Right. You know, and it just like, as I, you know, I have a little bit of it,

well, hearing loss in my right ear, hunting, shooting, I don't hunt anymore, just long time ago, and noises, like, what was that? You know, it's almost like 3D sound. I get reconnected and whether it's a fan or paper or something like that. That probably really will affect your positivity though, because you're going to hear so much that's going to irritate you.

We just did our last podcast on positivity and negativity. But I like to think of where we're going with hearing technology and what we're doing is giving people back. It's a superpower. For sure. It's a superpower because, you know, there's many people in the prime of their career that have hearing loss, but won't do anything about it. Now just think about what maybe perform better in your job.

But I can't even imagine from a safety perspective, I'm a nurse and I can't even imagine from a safety perspective, how much that would affect safety someone walking in a street, somebody you know, someone's behind you. I mean, I can think of a million things where it's an issue to not be able to hear. Well, I, you know, just over the weekend, you know, it's who we are. I posted because, you know, what's the money and all that. What's going on in LA right now? I suppose any hearing aids that were lost or anything, we will replace.

It doesn't have to be Starkey, anything. We want to help people find your local hearing professional, hearing healthcare professional, and Starkey will replace because people need to hear whether it's today with what's going on the news, loved ones, cell phones, same thing during COVID. Think about that COVID, you're isolated, lockdown. People wanted and couldn't hear. And we saw that once, you know, the restrictions were somewhat lifted, we saw that people like, okay, priorities became clear. And so- Well, mental health problems skyrocketed. Skyrocketed. Yes, exactly. Yes.

Because of the isolation. Yeah. Hearing loss increases isolation. And so, what we're, you know, what I wanted to do, just how I was, I'll say, mentored and raised at Starkey is help the people in LA County. Not looking for anything. It's just the right thing to do because people need to get, stay connected. They've lost everything. And if you get in touch with you, they go to the website or- I put it on my social media, but Starkey cares at Starkey.com. Starkey cares at Starkey.com. Great. All right. We have to stop, but we may have you back because this is so interesting. Because I'd like to hear from you and your ideas and what we can do.

so many different directions. I'd like to hear from you and your ideas and what we can do. Because you know, you know, obviously, yes, the brain health and everything that you do, what's something that we're not thinking of? What's something that we can collaborate? Because it's all about helping people do better. Well, and what we do here is we actually look at your brain before we go about changing it because if you don't look, you don't know. And you wonder using that mindset, how many at what interval should people have their hearing chucked? Right.

Like I think you should probably look at your brain every five years because if there's a big change you want to know, right? The sooner you try to fix a problem, the easier it is to fix the problem. So, what do you recommend? Because I don't think there's sort of a national recommendation for hearing tests. No, because people, the one thing that is true, there's not a, yes, when you go and get a physical, but it's really, there's not a set age per se. The one thing with hearing loss is, you know, people will eventually, I said the seven years,

you don't die from hearing loss per se. So it's not as urgent as other matters. But I mean, yes, for newborn screening. But now the, you know, the growing, I'll say pandemic in the age group is your teenagers. One in six have hearing loss, self-induced. What's the best way to screen for hearing loss? Dr. Justin Marchegiani, your local hearing professional. I mean, there's a lot of online and stuff, but you've got to be in a really quiet, you got to be the right environment. So, you're, you know, a local hearing healthcare provider, audiologist, hearing aid professional can do it just, and it takes six minutes. It's just, it's nothing. And

Well, when I took it, it was nothing because I heard nothing. Although not true. I mean, I can hear male voices just fine. It's just female voices, which she says is intentional, but completely was not. I make sure you were talking and I'm interested in collaborating and I can't remember exact details but the brain function. So with somebody with a hearing loss and then with the hearing aid, right? The vitality, what's, you know, what is it doing? It'd be very interesting to see.

I would love to see the before and after. We were talking about a study and collaborating on that. I'd like that a lot. Yeah, that'd be super interesting. Well, and just seeing, you know, so say we did 500 consecutive people and people who are not hearing versus people that hear well. Right, but also track their mood.

What's the difference? Right. And then for the people who aren't hearing, when you intervene, do you see improvements in blood flow and activity? To spec, the study we do measures mitochondrial function. 49% of the tracer is taken up by the little powerhouse energy parts of the cell.

And so are you energizing the neurons with appropriate stimulation? Yeah. That would be really interesting. So more to come. Thank you so much, Brandon, for joining us. What a joy. I knew it would be. This is fun. Wasn't I right? Yes. It's really interesting. I'm like, you have to come. She's like, what would I add? And like, so, yes. Thank you so much. Starkey.com. Starkey.com. This podcast is brought to you by the Change Your Brain Foundation, dedicated to ending the concept of mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health.

Go to changeyourbrain.org to learn how you can support our mission. If you like this week's episode, please make sure to leave us a review on iTunes or Spotify and follow me on Instagram and TikTok at DocAmen and Tana at TanaAmen.