Fading Sounds Book Cover A book that was first published in hardcopy under the auspices of The Oticon Foundation, Fading Sounds: About Hearing and Hearing Aids, by Kirsten Worsoe and Claus Elberling, has become available as a free digital download in PDF format. The book, originally published through a program grant from Oticon in 2006, was written for people who are looking for more information about hearing, hearing loss, and hearing aids than can be found in dictionaries or popular magazines.

According to the book’s introduction, it is particularly aimed at people with hearing loss and their families, friends, and colleagues who wish to understand the implications of a hearing loss. With its style and format, the book is also intended to be an inspiration for audiologists and other hearing professionals.

Like the hardcopy version of Fading Sounds, the downloadable PDF version is comprised of 8 chapters that guide the reader through the topics required for a basic understanding of the fundamentals of hearing. There are explanations of topic areas like how the sense of hearing functions; how hearing ability is measured; the most common types of hearing loss; and the parts of the hearing pathway most often affected, among others.

The text, which is complemented by illustrations and figures, contains a subject index, as well as a glossary, which can be used to look up words or terms that need to be explained. 

Source: Google Books, Oticon Foundation