Actor Jack Coleman Shares Personal Journey with Sudden Hearing Loss, Joins Effort to Find a Cure Through House Institute Foundation During National Speech-Language-Hearing Month
Los Angeles, CA — Beloved television actor Jack Coleman (Dynasty, Heroes) is opening up about his sudden hearing loss and the journey that brought him to Los Angeles-based House Clinic, where treatment helped him reclaim his quality of life. Now, with the support of the House Hearing Health Center, Coleman is taking the next step in his hearing journey with hearing aids — and using his platform to advocate for hearing health research through the House Institute Foundation.
Coleman’s story comes at an important time: May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, an annual opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and hearing health. His personal journey highlights how sudden hearing loss can impact anyone—and how innovation in care and research can offer hope.
Coleman’s life changed instantly while having coffee with friends in Sherman Oaks when a dog barked loudly near his ear. “My friend said it looked like I had been shot,” Coleman recalls. That moment marked the onset of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) — a rare condition that can strike without warning.
“It was as if I had been plunged underwater,” Coleman says. “It was unbearable.”
Initial treatments proved ineffective, but after finding the House Clinic, Coleman received intratympanic steroid injections from renowned neurotologist Dr. William Slattery. While his hearing was not fully restored, the treatment drastically improved his ability to function. “It made life livable,” he says.
Today, Coleman is working with the House Hearing Health Center to receive his first pair of hearing aids — and he’s speaking out in support of the House Institute Foundation’s efforts to find a cure for SSNHL.
“I’ve learned to live with hearing loss,” says Coleman. “But what I really hope is that research can find a way to fix it — not just help it.”
The House Institute Foundation’s Hearing Science Accelerator (HSA), led by Dr. Slattery, is a cutting-edge research initiative dedicated to uncovering the causes of sudden hearing loss and developing new treatment options. With approximately 66,000 Americans affected by SSNHL each year, the Foundation’s work offers new hope for those suddenly thrust into a world without sound.
Coleman’s story is one of resilience, but also one of advocacy. He joins fellow House Institute Foundation this May in raising awareness about the real-life impact of hearing loss — and the potential for medical breakthroughs on the horizon.
“Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss affects typically normal, healthy individuals,” explains Slattery. “Out of the blue, they suddenly lose hearing in one ear; we don’t know why, and we don’t have good options to treat it. The goal of the House Institute Foundation is to develop new treatment options for a cure.”
For more information about the House Institute Foundation or the House Hearing Health Centers, visit HouseInstitute.com
About the House Institute
The House Institute builds upon a storied legacy as the preeminent center for treating ear disease and neurological disorders. For over 75 years, the House Institute’s neurotologists, neurosurgeons, and audiologists have led the way in diagnosing and treating hearing, balance, and skull-base disorders through cutting-edge practices and compassionate care.
Today, the House Institute includes the House Hearing Health Centers, the House Institute Foundation, and the House Children’s Hearing Center — all working together under one brand to provide comprehensive hearing health services across the lifespan. The clinical and research arms of the organization collaborate to advance treatment, educate the next generation of hearing health professionals, and fuel groundbreaking research that holds the promise of a cure for hearing loss.