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“It’s Never Too Early Or Too Late To Get Hearing Aids” – Mary Harris’ Story
November 15, 2021

“It’s Never Too Early Or Too Late To Get Hearing Aids” – Mary Harris’ Story

An elderly woman in a yellow jacket is sitting in a chair.

As we focus during May on celebrating Older Americans Month and Better Hearing and Speech Month, longtime Johnson Audiology patient Mary Harris’ journey to better hearing is a fitting one for the telling
You see, now 108 years old, Mrs. Harris got her first set of hearing aids at 103, proving that, as she says “it’s never too early or too late to address your own hearing health care.”


Interviewing Mrs. Harris, a resident of Signal Mountain’s Alexian Village, for this feature was indeed an interesting hour as she recounted a life spent watching the world change in very drastic ways. At the time of this interview last Fall 2018, the world was marking the 100 th anniversary of Armistice Day, that pivotal historic milestone when the cessation of hostilities between the Allies and Germany became official, and the world’s bloodiest war—at least up to that point—drew to a close.


Mrs. Harris remembers that day—November 11, 1918—well as she says the whole world seemed to come together to take a deep, collective sigh of relief and celebrate the end of World War I. People around the world had been instructed to go outside and join together with neighbors and friends for a time of reflection, commemoration and celebration “on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” Mrs. Harris says she and her family did just that. “I was seven years old at the time, and I remember mother giving me pots and pans and spoons to make noise with. We went out on the front lawn, and all up and down the street our neighbors were out doing the same,” Mrs. Harris relates. One hundred years later, Mrs. Harris remembers vividly the sounds from that day, punctuating how our sense of hearing can mentally cement the events that pave the foundation of our life’s story and link us together with others.


For more than 95 years, Mrs. Harris engaged with her world through sound with seemingly little to no hearing loss, quite a feat since the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders shows that an estimated 28.8 million Americans could benefit from hearing aids as a way of addressing their hearing loss.


As is often the case in families where a member has hearing loss, one of Mrs. Harris’ daughters was the first to notice when her mother started asking her to repeat herself.  The issue seemed less pronounced when she was looking straight at her mom, a common warning sign of hearing loss since the individual is filling in the gaps by lip-reading. “Reading lips and gestures tends to be a common coping mechanism for people with hearing loss,” says Megan Johnson, Au.D., the founder of Johnson Audiology. “A person’s brain is having to work overtime when they are challenged with hearing loss. This can lead to ‘listening fatigue’ that can affect the person in a myriad of ways from decreased awareness of surroundings, which can cause safety concerns, to accelerated brain tissue loss over time.”



Mrs. Harris is the perfect example of a person who took control of her own hearing health, not waiting years to be tested and fit with hearing aids. Fewer than 30% of those with hearing loss have ever actually used hearing aids. In fact, research suggests that most hearing aid users wait at least 10 years after the onset of their hearing loss to seek intervention.


While Mrs. Harris says she was a bit resistant when her daughter first mentioned it, she quickly realized that being able to hear her friends and family was a simple quality of life choice and that stubbornness was not going to cause her to miss out on engaging fully in the world around her. Johnson says, “I remember Mrs. Harris’ first appointment in the summer of 2014 when she was 103 years old. I applaud her choice to act quickly.”


Johnson goes on to say that for those who are candidates, hearing aids treat hearing loss by giving the user access to sounds they are unable to detect with their ears alone, improving speech understanding and awareness of environmental sounds. “One of the first things Mrs. Harris mentioned to me at her hearing diagnostic appointment was her difficulty in understanding normal speech,” Johnson says. The large population of patients with untreated hearing loss is not only missing out on these direct benefits, but also are at risk for additional physical and psychological health issues.


Hearing loss affects every individual differently, but research has identified numerous potential negative consequences that are more likely to arise in people who are hearing impaired. One of the most basic concerns with untreated hearing loss is general safety. Sounds such as alarms, sirens, car horns, or verbal  warnings can signal threats to personal safety, prompting individuals to react accordingly and protect themselves. Inability to detect these signals can therefore put a person in danger.


The list goes on, Johnson says. “Decreased environmental sound awareness also has been associated with an increased risk of falling and thus for injury. Hearing loss has an emotional impact as well. It is linked to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, frustration, and social isolation. This likely stems from the impaired communication that results from declined speech understanding,” she says.These connections highlight the importance of addressing hearing loss as soon as it is noticed. Whether seeking intervention, concerned about a medical issue, or simply monitoring hearing status, Johnson says that “we all need to start thinking of addressing our hearing health as just another way of addressing our overall body health.”


Mrs. Harris continues to have appointments with Johnson Audiology whenever she needs supplies, regular maintenance or a programming adjustment on her hearing aids. The audiologists from Johnson Audiology visit once a month to offer various hearing health care services to Alexian residents. Additionally, all five of offices of Johnson Audiology are accepting new patients.


Mrs. Harris’ suggestion to others about hearing aids is as no-nonsense and straightforward as her seven-year-old self banging on pots and pans at the Armistice Day celebration: “If you need hearing aids, I would say you need to get them.” Sound advice from this lady who has heard a few things in her 108 years.

Cochlear implantation: A game changer for Chattanooga native, Chipper Gocke

March 6, 2025
Chipper Gocke, 28, has had many poignant moments in the last six weeks since his cochlear implant surgery. “A workmate commented recently that my speaking voice is the appropriate volume now. Not being able to hear myself, I probably often talked too loud before. It seems like a small thing, but it is a way to be more normalized in my professional and other settings.” His mother, Amy Gocke, also has noticed the changes. “Chipper has never called me on the phone before. With his profound lifelong hearing loss and even using powerful hearing aids, he simply couldn’t communicate by phone. Now I look forward to his calls every day after he gets off work.” These daily experiences that people often take for granted—communicating with a workmate or calling a family member to say hello—are now possible for Chipper because of his cochlear implant. Hearing loss has been a part of Chipper’s life since he was a small child. Chipper’s father, Ted Gocke, relates, “From the time he was 18 months old, Chipper had ear infections that had us in and out of the hospital. That led to tubes in his ears and the diagnosis that he had a significant hearing loss.” As a youngster, Chipper received early intervention services before he even reached school age. He also got established with local audiologist, Darnell Scafe, and they reconnected recently when Chipper sought out Darnell for hearing health care services as an adult. Darnell, who joined the Johnson Audiology team in 2018, says, “I remember Chipper as a sweet little boy who didn’t let his hearing loss slow him down. It’s wonderful to get to know the fine, capable young man he has grown into.” Last year, Darnell encouraged Chipper to consider a cochlear implant, and she referred him to Johnson Audiology’s Cochlear Implant Program Director, Dr. Hannah Dearth. Dr. Dearth then was able to complete cochlear implant candidacy testing. In November of last year, Chipper’s surgery was performed at Murfreesboro Medical Clinic (MMC) in Middle Tennessee by an otolaryngologist (ENT). A native of Chattanooga, Chipper traveled for the initial surgery since there is not currently an ENT in Chattanooga who performs CI surgeries. However, Chipper then had his cochlear implant activated at Johnson Audiology (JA) by Dr. Dearth in early January. Also, there to celebrate activation day was Darnell. “It felt like a full circle moment when Dr. Dearth activated Chipper’s cochlear implant, and he began to have those first sound perceptions.” Dr. Dearth explains, “People often wonder how a hearing aid and a cochlear implant are different. Cochlear implants are designed for patients whose hearing aids are no longer assisting them in understanding in both quiet and noisy environments. A hearing aid is designed to provide amplification for speech sounds that are unintelligible without said amplification. Cochlear implants are a surgical option for those who are no longer able to achieve meaningful understanding with a traditional hearing aid. Hearing aids rely on the ear’s natural pathway for hearing to accomplish this and so may not work well for someone with severe damage to the inner ear. A cochlear implant, on the other hand, bypasses the damaged parts of the ear by stimulating the auditory nerve directly with a mild electrical current that sends the sound signal to the brain.” Chipper is committed to his own success with his cochlear implant and in addition to listening to the speech of those around him, he is also tuning in to podcasts and audiobooks that give him even more speech exposure. Dr. Dearth says that is a huge factor in any patient’s ability to thrive with the device. “The patients who are committed to the aural rehabilitation as prescribed experience faster progress and higher success rates long term.” Chipper will continue regular follow-up appointments for the rest of his life to maintain successful progress with his CI. He gets emotional talking about the social isolation that can be a common side effect of profound hearing loss and, also, mentions the spatial awareness that better hearing offers. “Being able to pinpoint sound and localize stimuli from both sides of the head has positive effects for living a safe life,” Dr. Dearth says. Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist, founder, and owner of JA, says, “Johnson Audiology has provided support for cochlear implant patients since 2017 with care offered through the practice’s location on Lee Highway in the East Brainerd area. After implantation, every other part of a CI patient’s hearing journey can be accomplished at Johnson Audiology—from initial activation to routine mapping.”  Chipper and his parents encourage people to explore the possibility of cochlear implants since it can make such a difference in a person’s daily life and function. Johnson Audiology is accepting new patients who currently wear hearing aids but would like to pursue cochlear implant candidacy as well as those who already have a cochlear implant. Call Johnson Audiology at 423.556.7185 or visit www.johnsonaudiology.com/schedule for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Untreated hearing loss is changing your brain

By Jan Hollingsworth • May 16, 2024
Research reveals that hearing loss actually rewires your neural pathways Your Amazing Brain Your brain is an amazing organ! This wrinkly, reddish-pink mass weighs about the same as your two-slice toaster, tipping the scales at about three pounds. Acting as a master control center, your brain enables every thought, breath, eye blink, heartbeat, movement—everything—that happens in your body. Rivaling the world’s most powerful supercomputer, your brain can download, process, and react in milliseconds to the tidal wave of information coming from your eyes, skin, nose, tongue, and ears. Neuroplasticity and Your Sense of Hearing Researchers have discovered that the human nervous system—made up of the brain, spinal cord, and a complex network of nerves—has incredible capacity to modify itself, both in function and physical structure. This is called neural plasticity . Dr. Megan Johnson, audiologist and owner of Johnson Audiology explains, “Neural plasticity is going gangbusters in a child’s brain as the child develops and matures into adulthood. Based on years of brain research, we also know that the adult brain is far from being fixed. It, too, changes and adapts when you learn new information or skills or as a response to stress, hormonal fluctuations, drug interactions, injury, and much more.” Dr. Johnson also relates that “your brain displays neuroplasticity when you experience hearing loss.” By measuring brain waves using an electroencephalograph, or EEG, scientists have studied how the brain of a person with hearing loss functions compared to a person with normal hearing. The results are both fascinating and sobering as studies reveal that, in those with hearing loss, the portion of the brain devoted to hearing becomes reorganized. This can be true even with early-stage, mild hearing loss, and the process happens quickly, often in months rather than years. The Hearing Center of Your Brain and Beyond What is actually happening when this takes place? Your brain has a right and a left hemisphere and six major lobes. Think of your frontal lobe as your brain’s boss, where executive functions like decision making, emotion and impulse control, and planning occur. Your temporal lobe, which contains the auditory cortex, is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to interpreting sounds and assigning those sounds meaning. The temporal lobe processes speech and language, and it is where initial learning of new information takes place, which is the first step for logging that information into memory. Dr. Johnson goes on to relate, “When the delicate infrastructure of your ear has become damaged through noise exposure, infection, etc. leading to hearing loss, your auditory cortex cries out to your frontal lobe, saying ‘Help! Help! I’m not receiving any sound to process, so I feel lost.’ The frontal lobe ‘boss’ jumps to attention, and your occipital lobe, responsible for processing vision and touch, takes over the areas in which hearing is normally processed. In other words, your other senses seek to compensate for the deficit due to the loss of your sense of hearing.” Amazing, right? So, where’s the rub? Picture a car assembly line; each worker has an assigned task. One day, the worker who installs the windshields is absent, and the worker who attaches the rearview mirrors is assigned double duty, and a duty that was not part of job training. It is easy to see how the worker left juggling both jobs is compromised, and a car might slip through minus a rear view mirror. Similarly, the areas of your brain that are being taxed to make up for a lack of hearing are overloaded and less able to do their assigned responsibilities. “This explains why so many of my patients with hearing loss relate feeling exhausted and frustrated after a big family gathering—where multiple talkers and sounds must be interpreted—rather than happy and invigorated by the experience. We call this listening fatigue ,” states Dr. Johnson. Additionally, when left untreated long enough, researchers point to the brain’s reorganization due to hearing loss as a significant correlation with dementia. Hearing Technology and Your Brain “But here's the great news!” Dr. Johnson says. When a person is fit with hearing aids or a cochlear implant and sound is restored, the brain has the ability to adjust back—partially or completely—to proper function. How swiftly that happens often depends on how long the hearing loss went untreated and is why she encourages patients to treat hearing loss sooner rather than later. “Here is what I tell patients who are downplaying the importance of hearing: If you won’t treat your hearing loss for the sake of your ears, do it for your brain!”
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