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If you couldn’t hear well, would you wait five to nine years or longer to address the problem? Many people do just that. The average age of first-time hearing aid users is 67, yet the Better Hearing Institute reports that nearly half of all people with hearing loss are younger than 55. Why the delay in seeking help?
Many people with hearing difficulties aren’t even aware they have a problem, because the change happens over time. This means treatment may be delayed until the problem is fairly significant.
By getting your hearing checked early and regularly, you should be able to treat the problem and find a solution that allows you to enjoy all the sounds of life that you love.
The first step in treating hearing loss is to recognize its most common signs. If you or a loved one experiences the following, it might be time to contact a hearing care professional:
- Turning up the volume of the TV or radio.
- Diffiiculty hearing people calling and talking from behind you or in another room.
- Asking people to repeat themselves or saying “what?” frequently.
- Misunderstanding or “forgetting” what has been said.
TYPES OF HEARING LOSS
Many otolaryngologists have an audiologist associate in their office who will assess your ability to hear pure tone sounds and to understand words. The results of these tests will show the degree of hearing loss and whether it is conductive or sensorineural.
- Conductive Hearing Loss: A hearing loss is conductive when there is a problem with the ear canal, the eardrum and/or the three bones connected to the eardrum. Common reasons for this type of hearing loss are a plug of excess wax in the ear canal or fluid behind the eardrum. Medical treatment or surgery may be available for these and more complex forms of conductive hearing loss.
- Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A hearing loss is sensorineural when it results from damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve, often as a result of the aging process and/or noise exposure. Sounds may be unclear and/or too soft. Sensitivity to loud sounds may occur. Medical or surgical intervention cannot correct most sensorineural hearing losses. However, hearing aids may help you reclaim some sounds that you are missing as a result of nerve deafness.
THE RIGHT SOLUTION
Every person has individual hearing needs and should work with a hearing care professional to find the best solution to your hearing problem. A professional can assess your hearing loss and fit you with the best hearing aid for your lifestyle. That means assessing both the style of the hearing aid as well as the technology level,
since there are a number of options for both. The good news is modern hearing devices are nothing like the hearing aids of your parents’ generation. Today’s instruments are sleek, sophisticated pieces of equipment scientifically engineered to deliver clear sound without constant manual adjustment or annoying feedback — the whistling often associated with hearing aids.
Article provided by ARA Content and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
