Lee Peterson

Recording.m4a

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1AqTCOGo7Hs

Danielle in Audioland: Grandfather with Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Scene: An American family sits around a dinner table on a cold winter night but the
apparent chill of the outdoors is not present in this cozy home. All are laughing and
sharing stories: Grandfather, Mother, Daughter, and Son. Before the scene could
become any more hear-warming the edges of the vision become blurry. In the
background a faint noise is audible. It grows louder and more distinct until the
illusion is broken. We are now met with Dolores Galloway(DG) slaving away in the
kitchen, the alarm of the oven is bellowing.

DG: OH CRAP OH MAN, THE QUICHE

The kitchen is a mess with freshly dirtied dishes. The oven holds a slightly
burnt quiche.
DAD! DAD, CAN YOU GIVE ME A HAND? HEY GRANDPA?
She turns the corner to look into the living room to see her father staring at
the captioned television. He does not here her.

DG: OH NEVERMIND
She said to herself knowing he didnt hear her.
DANIELLE (D)! DEAR, CAN YOU SET THE TABLE. DINNERS READY IN 15. DID YOU
HEAR THAT BRAD (BG)? 15 MINUTES AND YOU ARE DOWN HERE EATING DINNER
WITH THE FAMILY!

BG: OKAY!
Brad shouts from his upstairs room
DG: DANIELLE! BRAD, CAN YOU TELL DANIELLE TO SET THE TABLE PLEASE.

BG: DANIELLE SET THE TABLE!

He shouts without leaving his room or turning his head away from the video
game. Little footsteps come trotting down the stairs

D: GRANDPA! GRANDPA! I WAS LOOKING OUT THE ROOM OF MY WINDOW AND

GUESS WHAT! ITS STARTING TO SNOW!
Grandpa Galloway (GPA) remained in his seat without turning his head,
apparently unaware of the exciting news.
GRANDPA?
Danielle comes to the side of her grandfather and tugs on his shirt.
GRANDPA, I SAID ITS STARTING TO SNOW. SOON WELL BE ABLE TO GO TRACKING
THE ANIMAL FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR. REMEMBER? AND
YOU TOLD ME ALL ABOUT THE WHITE RABBITS AND HOW THEIR FIR CHANGES
COLOR? AND I TOLD YOU ABOUT THE-

GPA: THATS NICE DEAR

Grandpa Galloway pats her on the head as he continues to sit in front of the
television screen reading the text from the show he has watched a thousand times
before.
D: WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING?
She points to the screen and shrugged her shoulders to indicate a question
after he had looked at her obviously not knowing what he said.
GPA: JUST AN OLD SHOW, DEAR. YOU PROBABLY WOULDNT LIKE IT TOO MUCH.
D: WHATS IT ABOUT?
Again she pointed to the screen and shrugged.
GPA: LIKE I SAID , ITS AN OLD SHOW, DEAR.
D: BUT WHATS IT ABOUT?
GPA: GO HELP YOUR MOTHER, DEAR.
Grandpa Galloway dismissed his granddaughter1. But she did not leave to go
help her mother for a small white rabbit the size of a mouse scoots across the floor
up her grandfathers plad shirt and into his ear, parting the hairs like grass in a field
as it hops through. But before it could vanish completely it turns and shows to
Danielle that it has the silverware and dish set for dinner. She quickly circles around
behind the armchair her grandfather was sitting in, unbeknownst to him, and peers
1 The elderly with hearing loss often become dismissive and irritate when unable to
understand speech. They also tend to feel isolated and depressed. It is often difficult
to distinguish sounds when there is a great deal of back ground noise like television
and cooking (Mayo Clinic, 1)

into his old and fairly hairy ear. But as she did so a strange wind begins to swirl
through the house. But lo! It was not a pushing sort of wind but a wind that was
seemingly sucking her into her grandfathers ear! As she begins to fail in resisting
the sucking force Grandpa Galloways ear grows and envelops her whole and
spitting out a single shoe.
DG: DID SOMEBODY LEAVE A DOOR OPEN?
Dolores begins walking to the living room to investigate but then was again
distracted by yet another alarm, this time the smoke alarm and returns to the
kitchen rapidly.
MY SPINACH PUFFS!
Scene:
We now see a small girl in a dark and wet looking tunnel with a bright
light behind her. She is inside her grandfathers ear!

D: HELLO? WHERE AM I? HELOOOO?

Danielle continues to walk deeper into the tunnel. In the distance you can
hear a deep and loud noise

DG: DANIELLE, PLEASE COME SET THE TABLE! DINNER IN 10 EVERYONE. (TO
HERSELF) GOD PERMITTING
Dolores performs the sign of the cross as she dives into one of the mixing
bowls.
D: UHH, COMING!
Upon Danielles response the tunnel begins to shake and move. Slowly the
light at the end of the tunnel begins to become more obscure. Grandpa stirred upon
hearing Danielle yell from inside his ear, albeit faint and muffled. Now the light
completely vanishes and a gigantic finger chases Danielle catching her up and
forcing her further into the dark tunnel.
D: EWW. THIS IS WORSE THAN WHEN BRAD WIPED HIS BOOGERS ON ME
YESTERDAY. WHY DO THINGS LIKE THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN WHEN IM WEARING MY
FAVOIRITE CLOTHES?
Dislodging herself from a pile of earwax, Danielle finds herself near a large
drum-like object. She walks over to it and presses on it. It had a low and pleasing
drum noise. She patts it further until finally she produces a drum roll. Two spot
lights appear circling the ceiling where visable are two tall towers and two identical
trapeze artists. A noise from above speaks.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS, AND GIRLS, I NOW PRESENT TO YOU THE
BEAUTIFUL AND FLAWLESS, THOUGHTLESS, FRAUGHTLESS, SOMETIMES CROSSDRESSED, TRAPEZE ARTISTS: TWEETLE-DRUM, AND TWEETLE-DUM! AND A SPECIAL
THANKS TO OUR SPECIAL GUESTSMALLONE.
The two figures fall from high above and as they come closer to where
Danielle stand grab her and throw her about

Recording (2).m4a

.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s17MFrx1bfse

TD: WHAT A STRANGE CREATURE

TD: INDEED STRANGE
TD: STRANGE CREATURE WHATS YOUR NAME?
TD: OOH LET US GUESS IT! IF WE GUESS RIGHT YOU MUST STAY AND PLAY
TD: STAY AND PLAY ALL DAY
TD: EVERYDAY
TD: EVERYDAY INDEED
D: I CANNOT STAY THAT LONG! I NEED TO FIND THAT WHITE RABBIT WITH THE DISH
SET. IF YOU DONT GUESS IT RIGHT YOU NEED TO LET ME GO. OH LOOK THERE! THE
WHITE RABBIT.
The rabbit hops through a very small hole on one side of the ear drum.
TD: EASY!
TD: PEASY! WE CAN DO THAT WITH OUR HANDS BEHIND OUR BACK
TD: TRULY!
As they finish their absurd dialogue they released Danielles hands and put
theirs directly behind their backs. She flies through the air through the ear drum
TD: MY DRUM!
TD: YES DUM?
TD: NO DRUM, LOOK! THE DRUM IS DONE!
TD: MY, MY, LUCK IS DUMB

TD: I DO NOT FEEL SO MUCH LIKE LUCK, DO I TRULY LOOK IT?

They are seen later repairing their drum still bantering on incomprehensibly.
(now it is as good as it was before Danielle entered the scene). Danielle stands up
dusts herself off and sees a fork in her path which reads: to the Eustachian tube
and the other direction reads: auditory bones. Not knowing what Eustachian meant
and only having a vague idea of what auditory meant she stood to ponder. But she
soon began to hear loud noises coming from the auditory bone path.
D: MAYBE SOMEONE DOWN THERE CAN TELL ME WHERE TO FIND THAT RABBIT
WITH MY DISH SET.

MAD MOVER (MM): OLD HOUSE! MOVE DOWN! HERE,

A house in rubble surrounds a tea party. MM hands a chair to Danielle hoping
that she might move it for him, supposedly to another house but ten feet away.
They carry chairs, tables, and tea sets, as well as spoons, and plates.
D: MY DISH SET!
As she tries grabbing for her mothers spoons and plates as MM and his
comrades carry the party to the next house and set the table for the tea party.
MM: COME YOU, SIT DOWN, DRINK, BE MERRY, FOR THIS IS OUR MOVING DAY!
D: WHY ARE YOU MOVING?
The carpenter can be seen in amongst the rubble trying to piece the house
back together.
MM: YOU SEE MY DEAR, WE ARE CELEBRATING MOVE IN DAY WITH A TEA PARTY BUT
SO VERY OFTEN THE GROUND SHAKES AND QUAKES CAUSING A DECLINE IN THE
UPRIGHTEDNESS OF OUR NEW HOME, AND THEN WE MUST MOVEWHATS THE
WORDARDUOUSLYHORIZONTALLYNO, NO. ON! HAHA, TO THE NEXTJE NE SE

QUAIXDOMICILE. YOU SEE THESE BONES ARE ALWAYS BUZZING FOR SOME
REASON, PERFECTLY BUZZING AND CAUSES A COLLAPSE. ALLOW ME TO
ILLUCIDATE:
TWIDDLE-DRUM AND TWIDDLE-DUM,
BANGING SOFTLY ON THEIR DRUM.
BUZZING BONES FOR NO REASON,
CANT YOU SEE ITS MOVING SEASON?
SHAKING BONES DO NOT CRUMBLE
WHY THEN HOMES DO TURN TO RUMBLEER RUBBLE THAT IS
In the distance the sound of drums can be heard. 2 Upon this noise the whole
crew picked up their tea party as the ground began to shake. The walls fall down
around them and they calmly moves to the next house. In the state of moving, D
quickly gathers the plates and spoons she knows to be her mothers, and hastens
past the line of houses, past hammer, anvil, and stirrup street, to another change in
scenery.

DG: DANIELLE 5 MINUTES! THERE BETTER BE PLATES ON THAT TABLE.

2 Because noise can distinctly be heard from beyond the ear drum we know that the
outer ear and what we have seen of the middle ear are functioning.
(bms.ed.ac.uk,1)

D: OH DEAR.
After carrying several plates and spoons for a distance D becomes tired and lies
down among a patch of small dewy grasses.
ILL JUST REST HERE A MOMENT BEFORE I FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET OUT OF HERE
ILL AT LEAST HAVE A FEW PLATES AND SOME SPOONS TO PUT ON THE TABLE.

OUTER MARCH HAIR CELL 1 (OMHC): OH! THAT IS THE UGLIEST HAIR CELL I HAVE
EVER SEEN.
OMHC2: OH COME NOW, WERE NOT SO GOOD LOOKING OURSELVES THESE DAYS.
OMHC1: SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, I AM FUNCTIONING JUST AS I DID FIVE YEARS AGO.
CAN YOU SAY THAT FOR YOURSELF? HMPF. SO WHAT KIND OF HAIR CELL ARE YOU,
ONE OF THOSE INNER HAIR CELL OR AN OUTER HAIR CELL?
OMHC 3: DONT BE RUDE NOW YOU HAVENT EVEN ASKED ITS NAME? HELLO IM
OMHC3 PLEASED TO MAKE YOUR AQUAINTANCE (COUGH, COUGH). PARDON ME,
YOU SEE WE HAVE NOT BEEN SO HEALTHY FOR SOME TIMEBUT YOUR NAME?
D: DANIELLE
OMHC1: NOT SO QUIET! MUST YOU BE SO QUIET AND LAMBISH!
OMHC2: THAT WAS RATHER RUDE!

OMHC3: I MUST AGREE THAT WAS RATHER QUIET, WOULD YOU MIND REPEATING
YOURSELF A TAD LOUDER?
D: UMM, DANIELLE.
OMHC2: THATLL DO
OMHC3: WHAT A STRANGE NAME, I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF YOU AROUND HERE
BEFORE.
OMHC1: DO YOU SUPPOSE SHE IS AN IMHC?
OMHC2: AROUND THESE PARTS I THINK NOT
OMHC1: DO YOU SUPPOSE SHE IS A SOUND?
OMHC2 AND 3: A SOUND?
OMHC3: OH! AWAY WITH YOU, I CAN NO LONGER HANDLE SUCH MINISCULE
SOUNDS.
OMHC1: FAR TO QUIET TO ASSOCIATE WITH US
OMCH2: DO YOU REMEMBER THE LOUD SOUNDS BACK IN THE DAY, OH, THEY USED
TO MAKE ME DANCE. BUT NOT YOU! WE REMAIN WHITHERED AND FEWER IN
NUMBER FROM ALL THE GLORIOUS LOUD SOUNDS FROM DAYS PAST, EVEN IF THEY
DID CAUSE SOME DAMAGE, MADE US DANCE. NOW WE ARE COMPLETELY UNUSED
BECAUSE OF INCOMPREHENSIBLE MINISCULE SOUNDS LIKE YOU! AWAY!
Danielle, forced along, finds another patch of similar yet different looking
grass which she might lay down to rest. In the distance the OMHC yell.
OMHC1: HEY! YOU IMHC FELLOWS. WE FOUND A SOUND AND AMPLIFIED IT TO YOU;
IT WOULD BE BEST IF YOU SIPMPLY SENT IT ON ITS WAY, EVEN IF IT IS SO
MINISCULE.
IMHC123: YES MAM
The place where Danielle lies opens beneath her and sends her through a
fast and electric slide. Her hair stands on end. Along the way on the slide she
notices scattered forks and knifes and grabs them. Soon she finds herself in a new
scene. The slide effectively transports her to the brain. 3
Here she stands in a laboratory buzzing with electrical signals, holding her new
found place setting. Typically her mother would give her a two minute warning, and
3 Having acted as a sound and being transported by the auditory nerves we know
that the nerves are in perfect function but the cochlea seems like it has some
problems. (bms.ed.ac.uk, 1)

knowing it was nearing that mark she paused to listen for her mothers voice but
could not hear anything.
D: I WONDER HOW MUCH LONGER I HAVE BEFORE I GET INTO DEEP TROUBLE. WHY
CANT I HEAR ANYTHING ANYMORE?
KING OF THOUGHTS (KT): AT LONG LAST! YOU HAVE MADE IT DANIELLE. I HAVE SO
DEARLY MISSED YOUR STORIES.

D: WHO ARE YOU?

KT: I AM THE KING OF THOUGHTS. IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAVE LAST HEARD
YOUR SOUND, OR ANY SOUND. THAT IS WHY I SENT MY PET TO RETRIEVE YOU, FOR
IT GIVES ME SUCH PLEASURE TO HEAR YOU.
D: SO HE TOOK MY MOMS DINNER PLATES AND RAN INTO MY GRAMPAS EAR
KT: OH YOU RASCAL, YOU INTELLIGENT LOVELY FIEND. WHAT A STROKE OF LUCK,
YOU MUST BE NEARING DINNER TIME AND NEEDS TO SET THE TABLE. HAVING NO
PLATES NOR FORKS, OR SPOONS, OR CUPS, OR KNIVES COULD MAKE THIS
DIFFICULT. I CAN TELL BY THE SMELL SENCES THAT DINNER IS NEAR COMPLETION.
BUT THEN MY DEAR! YOU HAVE NOT SET THE TABLE IF ALL THE NECESITIES ARE

PRESENT AMONG US. HASTE! GO SO I SHOULD NOT CAUSE THEE HARM, BUT FIRST
YOU MUST TELL ME OF WHAT YOU SAW TO GET HERE. THERE IS SOME PROBLEM
WITH THE SOUND IN THIS BODY AND I DO NOT KNOW IT. YOU HAVE TRAVELLED
THROUGH THE SYSTEM OF THE EAR TO FIND ME AND YOU MUST TELL ME WHERE
THE PROBLEM LIES.
D: THE EAR! OH OF COURSE, I WAS SUCKED INTO GRANDPAS EAR. WELLFIRST
A montage of where Danielle had been and what she had seen plays,
explaining her path, divulging to the king of the functionality of the outer ear, and
the middle ear. But upon hearing the few numbers of OMHCs he knows the problem
is with the hair cells. And because she was able to be transported to the brain the
auditory nerves were in perfect function.
KT: MAKE HASTE MY CHILD! AND TELL THY MOTHER THAT THIS SPECIMINE OF
GRANDFATHER NECESITATES AN AMPLIFICATION DIVISE BECAUSE HIS HAIR CELLS
CANNOT GROW BACK!4 YOU CAN GO TO YOUR LOCAL CLINIC FOR A HEARING TEST
WITH AN AUDIOLOGIST. PERHAPS SPEAK IN A LOWER VOICE, HIGHER TONES ARE
MORE DIFICULT TO HEAR FOR GRANDPA.5
Another trap door opens beneath her and as she falls she yells,
D: A WHAT?
KT: A HEARING AID. YOUR GRANDFATHER NEEDS A HEARING AID TO AMPLIFY
SOUNDS TOO QUIET OR INDISTINCT IN ORDER FOR THE HAIR CELLS TO PASS THE
MESSAGE ALONG. IF YOU DONT HE WILL ONLY BECOME MORE ISOLATED AND SAD.
Danielle finds herself standing next to her grandfather with one shoe off and
one shoe on, slightly dizzy. She was holding all the silverware and plates and cups
she needed and quickly set the table Just as her mother came to the living room
with the food.

4 By amplifying the sounds entering the ear there is a greater chance the cochlear
hair cells can do their job. Cochlear hair cells cannot grow back (oxfordjournals, 1)
5 High pitch tones are more difficult to hear for those with deficiency in cochlear
function (bms.ed.ac.uk)

DG: WELL HAVENT YOU BEEN QUIET TONIGHT. THANKS FOR SETTING THE TABLE.
BRAD! DINNER.
D: MOM! GRANDPA NEEDS A HEARING AID! YOU KNOW HOW HE DOESNT LIKE US
ANYMORE. ITS BECAUSE HE CANT HEAR US. HE NEEDS A HEARING AID BECAUSE
THE HAIR CELLS IN THE COCHLEA NEED HELP DANCING.
DG: WHAT? WHERED YOU GET ALL THAT
D: ITS COMPLICATED.
DG: SEEMS LIKE IT. BUT THAT PROBABLY WOULDNT BE A BAD IDEA. GRANDPA HAS
SEEMED A LITTLE OUT OF IT LATELYA LITTLE SAD. HIS HEARING WAS PROBABLY
DAMAGED FROM ALL THAT AIRPLANE FLYING HE DID DURING THE WAR. 6
It cuts to a montage where they take grandpa to get his hearing checked and an
amplification device fitted. They are now sitting around the table laughing and
sharing stories just like they were before..

6 It is revealed that Grandpa Galloway was an airplane pilot back in the day. That
exposure to loud sounds for an extended amount of time caused the damages to
the hair cells (Mayo Clinic, 1). This is classified as sensorineural hearing loss (ASHA,
1).

Happy Ending

Step 2:
This campaign focuses on sensorineural hearing loss in advanced age. My
hope is to reach an audience of young viewers, ages 6-10. This is my audience
because while focusing on a younger age range you can get them while they are
young it is also common that they will share the information that they learn with
their parents or others and less likely for a parent to spread information they learn
from a show with their children therefore reaching an even greater audience.
Exposure to information on hearing loss is the main goal. My format is that of a
screenplay for a kids show comparable to magic school bus but focusing on hearing
and speech related sciences. I selected this format because pop culture video
production (movies and shows) reaches one of the greatest number of audiences in
the United States. For rapid education and spread of information I believe this is the
best and most efficient medium. This information would be distributed via cable T.V.
stations.

Bibliography
ASHAWeb. "Sensorineural Hearing Loss." American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association. ASHA, n.d. http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/SensorineuralHearing-Loss/. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
"Hearing Loss." N.p., n.d. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearingloss/basics/causes/con-20027684. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

"Process of Hearing: Hearing, Hair Cells, and Cytoskeleton." N.p., n.d.

http://www.bms.ed.ac.uk/research/others/smaciver/hearing.htm. Web. 15 Nov.
2016.
Yehoash, Raphael. "Cochlear Pathology, Sensory Cell Death and Regeneration".
British Medical Bulletin, n.d. . Volume 63, Issue 1, Pp. 25-38.

Pictures, makeup, photoshop: Lee Peterson and Mariah Ballard

All voices: Lee Peterson
All sounds: https://www.freesound.org/people/MoonlightShadow/sounds/325367/