The Sound of Success

John Bartolucci says there are roughly 28 million people in this country with some form of hearing loss. That's about one in 10.

But only about a fifth of these individuals wear a hearing aid, said Bartolucci, president of Avada Hearing Care Centers and a 30-year veteran of this industry. There are several reasons for this phenomenon, he said, starting with denial.

"There will always be some people who just don't want to admit that they're getting older," he said, adding that vanity is another reason why some people won't get an aid, while finances and, in some cases, doubt about the effectiveness of the products also play a role.

But there are a number of converging …