[Rush Limbaugh]'s show is broadcast to about 600 stations and 20 million listeners a week. He uses his program as a daily shooting gallery targeting the Clintons, feminists, environmentalists, peace activists and liberals or moderates. In style, Limbaugh is legendary for unleashing oral fusillades of well-honed scorn, derision, bemusement and exasperation on anything veering from what he defines as "The Way Things Ought to Be," also the title of one of his books.

Kraig T. Kitchin, president of Premiere Radio Networks, which distributes Limbaugh's show, said Limbaugh received 30,000 supportive e-mails in the first two days after his hearing loss announcement. Many in his core audience, sometimes known as "dittoheads," describe themselves as "angry white males."

"The show is not about the callers. They're there to give the host something to bounce off of. Rush's show is about Rush, and he's very honest about that," [Ken Mueller] said. Limbaugh signed a nine-year, $285- million contract with Premiere in July, and Kitchin said neither side knew the seriousness of the host's medical problem at the time. He insisted that would not have changed Premiere's position, however, and it is committed to carrying him through 2009.