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Do you often miss certain words? Do you frequently ask people to repeat what they have said or avoid social situations altogether? If so, you may be exhibiting signs of hearing loss. An estimated 28 million people, that is, one in every 10 Americans, suffer from hearing loss, and that number continues to grow annually. In fact, as baby boomers reach retirement age starting in 2010, this number is expected to rapidly climb and nearly double by the year 2030.
The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age and most hearing losses develop over a period of 25 to 30 years. Among seniors, hearing loss is the third most prevalent, but treatable, disabling condition, behind arthritis and hypertension. So, if you answered yes to any of the questions above, or are noticing a difficulty in hearing when background noise is present, or have had concerns regarding your hearing sensitivity in the past or currently, it is imperative to have a comprehensive hearing evaluation.
At this evaluation, an audiologist will determine your hearing thresholds for a variety of frequencies that range from low to high and your ability to discriminate words. This will help to determine the severity of your hearing loss and help to give the audiologist a better understanding of your communication difficulties. If any medical concerns arise a referral to your family physician or a specialist will be made prior to pursuing amplification. While the vast majority of Americans with hearing loss (95%) could be successfully treated with hearing aids, only 22% (6.35 million individuals) currently use them. Did you know that typically only 5% of hearing loss in adults can be improved through medical or surgical treatment? If a hearing evaluation reveals that you are a candidate for amplification it is important to know that devices to improve hearing and communication have seen rapid improvements over the last two decades.
These improvements include their performance whether in the presence of background noise or not, increased flexibility to program the hearing aids to your individual hearing loss and their overall size as well. Over 60% of individuals with hearing loss are fit with two hearing aids (binaural). The benefits of wearing two hearing aids, if indeed you are a candidate, are an enhanced ability to:
- hear better in the presence of background noise
- determine where sound is coming from
- hear soft sounds at lower levels
Hearing aids vary in price by the type of the technology that is enclosed in the casing. They can be completely automatic or controlled by the user through the push of a button or by a remote. There are many hearing aids available to meet each individual listener’s needs and to aid in successfully improving his or her communication abilities. Wearing hearing aids is different. It is not like normal hearing and does take some getting used to. The goal of amplification is that it significantly improves a patient’s communication and therefore his or her life. Whether or not you are ready to pursue hearing aids at this time, it is recommended that you have an annual evaluation to monitor your hearing sensitivity.
Lisa Young, Au.D., is an audiologist at the Longmont Clinic. She provides comprehensive hearing evaluations. She joined Longmont Clinic in September 2007 and can be reached at 303-776-1234 ext. 346.
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