Portrayals of Hearing Loss on the Big Screen

The Academy Award nominations are in, and one of this year’s contenders examines the emotional toll of sudden hearing loss. On this episode of ASHA Voices, we discuss how the movie “Sound of Metal” fits into a long history of hearing loss and tinnitus portrayals on the silver screen -- and what this can tell us about societal views.

Joining our panel are audiologists Peter Ivory and Michelle Hu, and author and media scholar Mack Hagood. The trio discuss past films and performances featuring people with hearing loss, and a sudden increase in on-screen tinnitus portrayals in the early 2000s. And we dig into Oscar-nominated “Sound of Metal” from the perspectives of audiologists and people who have hearing loss, as Hu does.