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03-21-2011
Researchers in Madison, Wisconsin have discovered that 14% of middle-aged Americans have some sort of hearing loss. For those aged 48 to 59, that percentage jumps to around 20%, and for those 80 years old and older, the percentage skyrockets to 90%. The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health research study included 3,285 subjects from 21 to 84 years of age.
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04-13-2010
I've had three different hearing aids in my life, and the Motion 501 ITE is the best and most comfortable out of all of them. It isn't very hidden on my ear, but it is quite stylish. My hearing loss isn't severe, so I wasn't in need of something too strong. If you have severe hearing loss this many not be the one for you. I have it on the second to highest setting and it is perfect for me. If you are looking for an everyday hearing aid I would recommend this one.
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Hearing Loss Denial
02-28-2011
No one wants to look old, and because of this fact of human nature, the ‘denial’ business is thriving. Any stakeholder in the $29 billion dollar cosmetics industry will tell you that people will do whatever it takes to maintain the illusion of youth.(1)
It has been established that denial of aging is one of the main reasons that millions of Americans do not treat their hearing loss. Hearing aid resistance is a widespread phenomenon. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimate the number of people with hearing loss in the United States is 28 million.(2) That is an astonishing figure considering that with a population of 307 million, this means that around 9 percent of Americans suffer from some form of hearing loss! It’s doubtful that one of every 10 or 11 people in your circle of acquaintances wears a hearing device.
An article appearing in Hearing Health Magazine suggested that the explanation may be split along gender lines: women avoid hearing aids because hearing loss is associated with aging, while men eschew them out of a fear of appearing weak.(3)
With apologies to Rodney Dangerfield, hearing loss is the affliction that gets no respect. As Richard Carmen so eloquently stated in Hearing Health Magazine, “If we were talking about heart disease, cancer or some raging virus, public health officials would undoubtedly be on this case tirelessly trying to solve it. Sadly, the perspective on hearing loss, not only among public health officials and policy makers but even by those afflicted, has been to ignore it. Eighty percent of people with obvious signs of hearing loss decline the use of hearing aids.”(3)
There are obvious quality-of-life issues for the hearing impaired individual, but the consequences of overlooking hearing loss problem go beyond the practical and the aesthetic. Studies have shown that untreated hearing loss can lead to depression, anger, paranoia, anxiety and social isolation.(4)
So what is a concerned spouse or child to do? Stop enabling loved ones who need help. It is common for family members to “help” a relative with hearing loss by talking more loudly or ‘interpreting’ for others. A concerned relative or friend, however, must proceed with caution and finesse. Act too pushy about it and they will resist. Family members should appeal to their hearing-impaired loved ones’ concerns for their safety and the safety of others: the ability to hear smoke alarms or sirens, to hear the telephone in an emergency, to monitor the grandchildren and be aware if they are playing safely, and so on.
Help loved ones to find a specialist and patronize only those physicians who make hearing testing a routine part of annual physical exams. Let them know how common hearing loss actually is, and introduce them to others that wear hearing aids. Cover up for loved ones and their denial could go on indefinitely.
Sergei Kochkin, PhD, with the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) advises, “…involve the entire family in your efforts to help your loved one hear independently of your help. A concerted effort can help your loved one finally admit s/he has a hearing problem.” Koch advocates a tough-love approach that even the most determined person might have a tough time implementing: “Explain to your loved one with hearing loss – in a calm, loving voice without condemnation – that you will no longer repeat yourselves or raise your voices. Instead, when s/he asks for information to be repeated at greater volume, you will use words like "Hearing Helper" or some other signal to alert him that he is relying on someone else to act as his ears. By doing this, you help him realize how often he has to ask for help to hear.”(4)
State of the art technology has revolutionized hearing aids. It is now possible to correct hearing disabilities with discreet, effective devices that can dramatically transform the lives of hearing impaired people. There is simply no reason for a person to suffer unnecessarily with the debilitating effects of hearing loss.
For more information about hearing health, visit the BHI site at BetterHearing.org.
References:
(1) Mary Lisa Gavenas, Color Stories: Behind The Scenes Of America’s Billion-Dollar Beauty Industry 10 (2002)
