Elliott Berger: A good scientist to have around

The teachings of Elliott Berger are always clear. His recent paper “The Art of Presentation” explains his approved method. He has been the direct and indirect mentor to most of us interested in protecting hearing, and he is the expert in the real-ear performance of hearing protection devices. His 21 EARLogs® provide a treasure trove of information. The Berger et al. Noise Manual has been without peer in several editions. His integrity is absolute, his enthusiasm knows few bounds, and his determination to get to the bottom of vexing questions has produced some of the most important information in our field. A colleague and I once visited Elliott hoping to sell him on a new ready-to-wear earplug with a flat 20 dB attenuation. He and Bob Falco liked the performance, but opined that it was very ugly—and suggested a more attractive construction which produced the same performance. The resulting ER20 HiFi earplug has sold some three million pairs between the two companies: Hundreds of thousands of drummers and band students have normal hearing today as a result. Elliott sometimes has fun even with an important question: “So, how do you want your NRRs: Realistic or sunny-side-up?”