I am always surprised by people's perceptions of things they don't fully understand. As I was having dinner with some acquaintances recently, one of them asked what an editor does in today's publishing world. The conversation developed along two topic lines: what was going on in the hearing industry that my publication covers and an explanation of modern editorial duties and obligations.

The group was surprised to hear me describe how interesting I find the field of audiology--I'm not sure what they had previously believed about it, although there was a hint when one described memories of his grandmother's "squealing" hearing aid. They exhibited real interest when I described the sophistication of today's hearing aids and were fascinated to hear about some of the current research being conducted, especially that stem cells were being studied to find a cure for hearing loss. Not only did they not know stem cells might offer therapies for many different conditions, they also didn't know that that there isn't a cure for hearing loss.

I was surprised to find out how little the group actually knew about hearing issues in general and then amazed to hear that they thought of me and my job as "kind of like Lois Lane."

Exchanges like these give me ideas about what to write for the Better Hearing Institute's national Better Hearing Blog. I figure if one group of general consumers is interested in a topic, others might be too.

In the same situation, I guess Lois Lane would have asked Superman to explain how he valued his super sense of hearing, thereby providing a sterling example of how important hearing is and why it should be safeguarded. But as a modern-day editor with a variety of electronic media at my disposal, I chose to write a blog called "Will Research Bring a Cure for Hearing Loss?" describing some of the exciting stem cell research being conducted by today's scientists--in my opinion, some of the super heroes of our time.

When I was asked to participate in the Better Hearing Institute's (BHI) national blog on hearing loss, I was greatly flattered but a little unsure of what I-a journalist-could hope to offer that would compete with the expertise of the other bloggers, most of whom were highly respected hearing professionals.

Even so, I decided to give it a try because I'm a great believer in the theory that chances placed in my path should be viewed as opportunities-a philosophy that has resulted in quite a few interesting experiences and an education far beyond the classrooms of Ohio University, where I received my degree in journalism.

BHI Executive Director Sergei Kochkin, PhD, was very clear that he was looking for a variety of viewpoints, so I thought long and hard about what my viewpoint should be. In essence, I needed to establish an identity in this impressive community of bloggers.

When the answer came, I'd like to say it was with a shout of "Eureka!," but it was more like a sigh of relief as I was scanning the news one day, as I do every morning. All of a sudden I realized I might not be an audiologist, but I was the editor of a magazine that serves them. As such, I have access to a wide universe of news and information about hearing-not only a valuable viewpoint, but also a great gift to share.

Oddly enough, the article I was reading was about modern identification technology and how the passwords we use today soon will become passé (perhaps "passéwords?"). The article was quite interesting and enlightening but, far more important, it helped me to reaffirm my old identity and became the password to my new one as a BHI blogger and the author of The Next Big Thing in ID Technology May Be Based on Our Ears.