What’s Doc Li been up to lately?
Here’s an update on what I’ve been up to!
Three things inspired me to launch EarAware, a national hearing health awareness campaign:
A growing number of patients complaining about dangerously loud music venues.
Patients arriving too late for effective treatment of sudden hearing loss.
Emerging research on hidden hearing loss (cochlear synaptopathy), showing that loud sound can damage nerve connections even when the hearing cells survive and hearing tests appear normal.
Actually, there is a 4th thing. The loudness is starting to even bother me! And I think I am starting to have some hidden hearing loss.
What’s interesting is that there’s been a groundswell of support from people once they become aware of what is happening. They have inspired all these projects here.
What’s EarAware?
EarAware is a nonprofit campaign dedicated to educating, empowering, and inspiring people to protect their hearing for life. Our message is simple:
◉ Care about your ears—and others'! Get curious. Get informed. Spread the word.
◉ Know your noise. Download a sound level meter and discover how loud your world is
◉ Turn it down! Aim to stay below 85 dBA. “Sub 85 keeps your ears alive!”
◉ Protect what you can't replace. Choose the right hearing protection for your lifestyle.
◉ Know your hearing. Get a baseline hearing test and monitor for changes.
◉ Act fast on sudden hearing loss! It's a medical emergency. Seek immediate medical evaluation—don't wait!
Your hearing is worth protecting. Once it's gone, you may never get it back.
EarAware, Hi-Def to Low-Deaf one pixel at a time
You can pass a hearing test and still struggle to hear. Conversations blur in crowded restaurants. Music loses its richness. Ringing follows you home long after the concert ends. What is happening—and what can you do about it?
In EarAware, ear surgeon, Dr. John Li combines personal stories, humor, and science to explore how everyday sound can affect your hearing. From concert halls and church services to headphones and fighter jets, he makes the invisible world of sound exposure understandable.
Discover why a normal hearing test may not tell the whole story, what researchers are learning about hidden hearing loss, and how loudness and listening time work together. Learn practical ways to monitor sound, choose hearing protection, recognize warning signs, and protect your connection to the people and music you love.
Enjoy the sounds of life—and help preserve your ability to hear them. Coming soon. Release date pending.
If you are on this page, you are one of the special people who can preview the book. The conditions are that you cannot print or send this to anyone else without permission. Here is the link to download the pdf file. Download link. There is no cost, but your prices is that you give me feedback. Please email me your comments and suggestions to inventmd2@gmail.com
The quick way to get the idea of this book is to listen to this 10 min podcast here.
Projects
Website: Earaware.com
Decibelmeter app iphone : Earaware Sound Exposure (link to download)
YouTube : Youtube@Earaware
Documentary Part 1: Intro
Documentary Part 2: Hearing Loss
Documentary Part 3: TBD
Songs: Sub-85 and the Spiral Harbor
Songs: 50 Ways to Kill Your Hearing
Books: I have written 3 books:
QR Code for iphone App
Decibelmeter and Fun Ear Tests
is a beautifully illustrated children’s story that turns hearing-protection science into an imaginative ocean adventure. Set in a village called Cochlea-by-the-Seathe Spiral Harbor, a musical seaside port shaped like the human cochlea, waves and melodies swirl together in harmony—until dangerous “tidal waves” of sound threaten to destroy the harbor’s song.
The hero, Sub-85, is a small blue submarine with a big heart and an even bigger mission: to keep the harbor’s music safe. When sound waves grow too tall—just like noise levels above 85 decibels—they crash into the harbor, breaking surfboards and silencing songs. Using his special inflatable torpedo, Sub-85 calms the roaring waves, restoring peace and rhythm to the Spiral Symphony. Available on Amazon!
After the Music Died: A Novel inspired by true events
Screenplay Sponsor Treatment: Spoiler
Dr. Daniel Mercer is an ear surgeon accustomed to finding answers. At home, his seventeen-year-old son, Evan, wants a future in football and music—not the medical career Daniel has imagined for him.
When Daniel helps deaf rock legend Ray Callahan return to the world of sound, Evan finds an unexpected mentor. Rehearsals, missed notes, and a battered guitar begin to bring father and son closer.
But another man hears only the ringing that never stops. Army Ranger veteran Tobias Reed has lost sleep, work, and the people he loves to relentless tinnitus. When Daniel’s courtroom testimony undermines his claim, Tobias becomes convinced the surgeon has dismissed more than his case. As his resentment grows, the lives of the surgeon, the musician, and the soldier move toward a collision none of them sees coming.
After the Music Died is a suspenseful, deeply human novel about fathers and sons, the invisible damage sound can leave behind, and the choices we face when being right is no longer enough. Coming soon. Date pending
If you are on this page, you are one of the special people who can preview the book. The conditions are that you cannot print or send this to anyone else without permission. Here is the link to download the pdf file. Download link. There is no cost, but your prices is that you give me feedback. Please email me your comments and suggestions to inventmd2@gmail.com