Summary
Audiologists are concerned there may be a rising tide of 'hidden hearing loss' among young people. As electronic prices have fallen, sound systems have become cheaper and more powerful. At the same time, live music events and personal music players are more popular than ever, resulting in an increase in noise-related hearing damage.
Aged 32, science writer Frank Swain is losing his hearing. In this programme, he asks what the future holds for people like him, part of a tech-savvy generation who want to hack their hearing aids to tune in to invisible data in the world around them.
Could these designers and hackers create the next super sense?
(Photo: Graphic design shows an ear with computer sound waves. Credit: Getty Images)
Credits:
Sound files of tinnitus kindly provided by Action on Hearing Loss. Free Helpline: 0808 808 0123.
Sonified data produced by Semiconductor, with audio courtesy of CARISMA, operated by the University of Alberta, funded by the Canadian Space Agency. Special thanks to Andy Kale.
Colour music created by cyborg artist Neil Harbisson.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:37.0 | Thank you for downloading from the BBC. |
| 0:40.0 | The details of our complete range of podcasts and our terms of use go to BBCWorldServis.com |
| 0:45.7 | slash podcasts. |
| 0:50.1 | My name is Frank Swain. I'm 32 years old and I'm slowly going deaf. |
| 1:01.0 | Nobody knows for certain why I'm losing my hearing. The first doctor I visited blamed the countless nights spent at ear splitting gigs and clubs during my 20s. |
| 1:11.0 | The second doctor thought it was more to do with an unfavourable draw in the genetic |
| 1:16.4 | lottery. What they do agree on is that it's irreversible. |
| 1:22.1 | If you want to enter my world, then my hearing loss started here in the vocal band. |
| 1:27.0 | And so I live in a world where the voices of my friends, my family and everyone else have faded into the background and I've lost against the noise |
| 1:36.6 | of day-to-day life. |
| 1:39.8 | Today I'm visiting a clinic in Camden, North London to meet with the NHS audiologist. |
| 1:48.0 | They'll be running some tests so I can find out just how bad my hearing has become. |
| 1:57.0 | Turning down a maze of white corridors, he shows me into a small room tucked away in the heart of the clinic insulated from the noise outside. |
| 2:04.8 | Come in, can we make yourself comfortable walking? |
| 2:08.8 | There are posters on the wall showing the labyrinthine twists of the inner ear and the whole corner of the room is |
| 2:14.5 | taken up by a large isolation booth. My name's Shiret, I'm the audiologist here today. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.