A Spotlight on Hearing Health and Hearing Loss Many speech pathologists know that May is Better Hearing and Speech Month.  BHSM was started by ASHA in 1927 to raise awareness of hearing health as well as communication disorders.  So, what exactly is hearing health? First, a brief review of the anatomy and physiology of hearing: the inner ear is filled with tiny hair cells that detect sounds and transmit signals to the brain.  The body has a fixed number of these hair cells (around 16,000).  When the hair cells are exposed to a loud noise for short periods of time, they become fatigued, which …