A pioneer in unraveling the psychosocial aspects of unmitigated hearing loss, Max S. Chartrand Ph.D. has traveled the road that many are following today --

                                                                                                From deafness to hope to communicative wholeness

"It was October 1961 in Denver, Colorado when, at the age of 13, I was fitted with my first hearing aids," said Max S. Chartrand, Ph.D., founder of DigiCare Hearing Research & Rehabilitation in Colorado City, Colorado. He had lost all of his mid and high frequencies at age 3 from a double case of mumps, and by age 10 was well underway in a long decline of the remainder of his hearing as a result of antibiotic ototoxicity, given for rheumatic fever.

"Over those many years, I've been on a lifelong search for excellence in hearing correction, a most daunting task considering the limitations in technology and in the near untamable artifacts of the defective human ear."

By age 14, though gradually going deaf, he was widely recognized as an accomplished composer and performer on woodwinds, playing first chair in the Denver All-City Band, and later in the Colorado All-State Band and Orchestra. During college he played with the Denver Symphony Orchestra and other symphonies, and later earned a Bachelors of Arts in Music. In 1970 he co-founded the popular jazz-rock group "Blue Max" (similar to "Chicago"), and for some time was a regionally popular instrumental performer in the music field.

But by the mid 70s, his sensorineural ("nerve") deafness had progressed to the point that it became impossible to continue in the music field. "I could hear the music in my mind perfectly," he said, "but I couldn't hear myself play or the musician sitting right beside me. It was absolutely devastating to my life's dream."

At that time, he changed professions, and began his education toward a Health Services degree, and years later, toward a doctorate in Behavioral Medicine. During the course of that time he evolved into one of the most prolific authors and educators in the hearing health field, publishing more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles and papers worldwide. His writings are published in several languages and are utilized by university and professional training programs worldwide. On the continuing education and guest lecture circuit he has given more than 5,000 hours of courses in nearly every state and province throughout North America and in several foreign countries.

"While working in hearing aid research, development, and manufacturing throughout the ‘80's, my colleagues and I were able to help widen hearing aid response from a bandwidth of a mere 3,500 Hertz to more than 10,000 Hertz, which provided much better fidelity and spatial function in hearing aids. We also discovered more effective ways to accommodate abnormal loudness growth and cochlear distortion problems that had plagued so many hearing aid users in the past. What we have today is a near miracle compared to what we had when I entered this field, " notes Mr. Chartrand. "Now the hearing impaired can enjoy a whole array of rehabilitative offerings unheard of until only recently."

As the search goes on, for he believes that success is a "journey not a destination", he feels the real challenge today is in awakening the untold millions of those who've yet to come forward to ask for help.

"I can honestly say that when you lose gradual degrees of your hearing you feel as if you've lost control over the most important aspects of your life! I tell my patients, ‘I know what you're going through, for I've been there. I will go with you on that journey until you and I and your loved ones find the excellence that we so much desire and deserve. Though at times it may seem hopeless, I'll not abandon you."

Today, he is profoundly deaf. He wears a multichannel cochlear implant, and utilizes assistive devices to maintain relative communicative normality. He feels that with today's technology and the rights enjoyed under the Americans with Disabilities Act that every hearing impaired individual "has a whole new world waiting for them out there, just waiting for them to come forward and partake of it."

In the meantime, the search goes on...