This special episode of Talking Ears is a spotlight edit of episode 22 which focuses on the work of CAOHC, the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation. Now in its 50th year in the current form, the organization’s history is inspiring and carries a heavy responsibility. With its roots in interdisciplinary education and advocacy reaching back to 1965, CAOHC’s mission is to “advance best practices in occupational hearing conservation worldwide through credentialing, standards, education, and advocacy.” The Council’s vision is, “a world without occupational hearing loss.”&nb ..read more

Peter Dankelson wears many hats: award-winning author, motivational speaker, social media inspiration, and killer rock guitarist. His attitude is infectious, his perspective is eye-opening, and his playing is world-class. We focused on his music life and barely scratched the surface of his amazing medical journey which set the stage for the conversation. Oh well - I suppose you'll just need to become a fan of Pete's and read his book to get the full story! In this episode, we'll hear music by his band, Pete's Diary as well as live performances featuring Peter Dankelson wit ..read more

"This week on Gig Gab, dive deep into the world of hearing health with Frank Wartinger, a renowned music audiologist and podcaster! Wartinger emphasizes the importance of protecting your ears, especially for musicians and avid music fans... Wartinger and Hamilton remind listeners that in the world of music, it’s crucial to “Always Be Performing,” but that also means taking care of your health, especially your hearing, to ensure longevity in your career ..read more

If you are in the music industry, you are likely eligible for a no-cost hearing wellness consultation paid for by MusiCares, the non-profit arm of the recording academy. I'm this episode, Juan and Frank explain the details and discuss aspects of the recent video panel of audiologists, but please go to Tunedcare.com to check your eligibility and schedule your visit. Applicants must be able to document employment history in one of the following areas 1) Five years employment in the music industry, or 2) Six commercially released recordings and/or videos.  The benefit includes: 1) Virtual co ..read more

EmmoLei Sankofa is prolific and busy, but she was kind enough to take the time to chat with Talking Ears! In this episode, the composer of some of your favorite soundtracks (recent credits including Three Ways, Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls, Step Up Season 3, The Other Black Girl, and Project CC) shares her thoughts on storytelling through sound and collaborating with filmmakers. We first met through MusiCares and the tele-audiology platform at tunedcare.com, and this fantastic program is discussed at length in the episode. Also, listen close to catch all the references to morse code an ..read more

While it is true that Brendan Fitzgerald is a fellow audiologist and is on the University of Buffalo clinical faculty, we spend almost our entire hour together discussing his work as the director of the contemporary music ensemble Wooden Cities. We ask Brendan to elaborate on what it means to have intention in live performances, how community and the people involved influence the outcome, and what constitutes musical aesthetics. Maybe next time we'll get into music audiology and hearing loss prevention for performers, but for now, we enjoy his beautiful and oftentimes challenging music. In thi ..read more

Danielle DePalma is a world-class mixing engineer, the production manager of the legendary Bowery Ballroom in NYC, and a dear friend. She's toured with, recorded, mixed, and produced concerts for practically everyone you can name so it was tough to pick only a few, but in this episode we focus on the music of past and current collaborators Mercy Bell, Sharon Van Etten, Hailey Wojcik, Field Mouse, Christina Picciano, and Emily King. Danielle also pens eye-opening articles on concert management and production on SoundGirls.org, and we get into the important conversation of representation in the ..read more

Wayne Tucker is a trumpet player, singer, songwriter, composer, and soon to be author. He has shared the stage with household names such Taylor Swift, Ne-Yo and David Crosby, and jazz artists like Al Foster, Cyrille Aimee, and Kurt Elling. Since 2016, he's been releasing albums of his own compositions and songs. Wayne is also a founding member of Brass Against, a unique group which reimagines the music of Rage Against the Machine (and other artists) with a huge horn section and energetic stage show. In this interview, we hear music from his most recent EP, "I'll Never Stop", as well as his man ..read more

Dr. Matt Bell is an audiologist who has written and taught extensively on the subject of 'Audiologic Management of Musicians'. He has inspired countless audiology graduate students, and many of his students have gone on to do great work in the field of music audiology... we're looking at you, Juan Vasquez, co-producer of Talking Ears!  Juan takes the host chair for this episode to interview Dr. Bell, his mentor and arguably the reason he is an Audiologist today. Music in this episode features Matt Bell in various bands including Raindriver and The Feel ..read more

Kitten Kuroi has traveled the world as a featured singer with some of the biggest names in music, and we're thrilled that she took the time to sit down to talk with us about her ears! In this episode, we discuss how her career got started and the proactive approach she uses to keep her ears sharp while on the road year after year. She also shares the inspiration behind her upcoming album, American Refugee, which in part reflects on how her experience of traveling abroad has changed over the years. We would also like to thank MusiCares and Tuned for connecting us, and for all the great work the ..read more