Maddie & Tae Perform Listen Carefully Concert

Country Music Association and Radio Disney Music Awards-duo Maddie & Tae joined Starkey Hearing Foundation on May 14 to celebrate the high school students whose video submissions for the national Listen Carefully hearing health campaign took top honors.

Festivities at Northwest High School Auditorium in Germantown, Maryland, culminated with the singer/songwriters performing a private live show for students of the high school.

Currently, one in six American teens has noise-induced hearing loss from loud sounds. It is a widespread public health epidemic, but with very little awareness. This hearing loss is irreversible, but it is also preventable.

“Hearing is something we take for granted,” multi-instrumentalist Maddie Marlow said. “Given the growth in teen hearing loss, we are so glad to help support the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s efforts to inform and raise awareness among young people.”

Adds Tae Dye, “Honoring these students who’ve produced such great videos makes us happy. Giving back by using your creativity is what Maddie and I have always done, and this is such an important message.”

The Listen Carefully video contest received entries from 624 teams from across all 50 states. The contest received more than 200,000 votes with the winning entry coming from the Germantown team of Miranda Pierce, Christopher Hall and Tye Gray.

“Without having hearing, not being able to hear your friends, socially it would change your life, and sitting in a classroom and not being able to hear your teacher, it would affect your grades,” Pierce said.

Maddie & Tae gave a fantastic performance for hundreds of high school students, and the night was filled with great excitement. However, we’re also happy that in the end the most important message was received: Your hearing is fragile – listen carefully.

“We’re really excited that Maddie & Tae are lending their support in raising awareness of hearing loss and the students who made these outstanding videos,” said Starkey Hearing Foundation Executive Director Brady Forseth. “Teenage hearing loss is growing at almost epidemic proportions and the videos produced by these students, and others around the country, do a tremendous service by making other students aware of risks to their hearing.”