Fort Rucker Army Base, AL  –   According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, more than 36 million American adults have some degree of hearing loss and over half of them are younger than age 65. National Audiology Awareness Month is meant to increase awareness of hearing as a critical sense, the role audiologists and hearing healthcare professionals play in caring for patients, and why hearing health is a vital element of maintaining total force readiness.