The Oscar winner attended the Starkey Hearing Foundation's So the World May Hear Awards Gala in support of her deaf pal Marlee Matlin in July (11), and now Goldberg confesses her presence at the party had an even more personal meaning - she is also hard of hearing.

She tells the National Enquirer, "I attribute my own hearing loss - which, by the way, is suffered by thousands of people in varying degrees - to years and years of listening to music so loudly and so close to the delicate ear drum."

According to the publication, Goldberg now wears small hearing aids under her lengthy locks of hair to help her hear low tones.

The actress has also become an advocate for the foundation, urging teens to turn down their speakers, so they don't suffer the same fate.