Welcome back to our office hours! Here in Juan and Frank open the proverbial mailbag with the intent of getting through loads of listener questions. We get through only 2 this time, but it was a good start to an exciting new segment for the show.

In this episode, we selected a common listener question which dovetailed with Cyrille Aimee's episode which we recently released. Additionally, we tackled the perennial question, "why did you name that thing that name?"

If you have questions for Talking Ears, please send them to us by email or voice memo - your voice could be featured in a future episode! Please indicate if you would like us to answer them publicly or privately. We will continue to try our absolutely busy best to answer every question we receive.

Music in this episode is from Frank's 2015 album "Cafe Ensemble". If you like what you hear and want to support the show, we invite you to purchase the album at the low low price of name-your-price. All proceeds will go to coffee and our ongoing work to develop a viable stasis chamber so we have more hours in the day to devote to producing and editing your favorite podcast.

Cyrille Aimée has become a household name for jazz lovers, and for good reason. She is a vocalist who captivates listeners with her original compositions, reinterpretations of standards (including Move On, a whole album of invigorating versions of Stephen Sondheim songbook's), and refreshingly playful approach to improvisation.

In this episode, we talk about and listen to music from her two most recent albums - Grammy-nominated à Fleur de Peau and the energetic 4.24 which was recorded live at Birdland in New York - as well as performances of musicians and animals at La Tucanera, her self-designed jungle house/studio/retreat in Costa Rica. Much of the conversation revolves around nature, both the sounds and the lessons it give us as long as we are open and listening.

Welcome to our first Talking Ears Office Hours. In these bonus episodes, hosts Frank and Juan will dive into waters deemed too clinical, technical, or otherwise ear-geeky to be featured in the main episodes. We will be opening listener questions, speaking with other clinicians, discussing the nuance of management techniques and hearing wellness gear, and/or - as in the case of this episode - adding technical context to a recent guest interview. If you haven't listened to Vincent Karamanov's episode, we encourage you to do so, as his story will be referenced throughout.

Brendan Fitzgerald, AuD (University of Rochester, Wooden Cities) joins the show (again and again) to discuss Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST) conditions. First we set about clarifying the related but distinct presentations of hyperacusis, phonophobia, and misophonia, before unraveling the current management recommendations. [consult the chapter markers if you would like to skip ahead to the topic that interests you]

Music in this episode is by Brendan Fitzgerald, Juan Vasquez, and Frank Wartinger, and was recorded during a snow 'storm' in Albuquerque, NM at the National Hearing Conservation Association's 2023 annual conference. You can listen to more of the Original Talking Ears music on Bandcamp.

Thanks for joining our office hours, and thanks for listening!