Having a hearing loss can be difficult. But trying to explain it to someone who has normal hearing can be even harder. Hearing loss is an invisible disability so it is often misunderstood, downplayed or even ignored, sometimes even by those closest to you. Hearing loss can have a huge impact on your life, and the lives of those who love you. …
Investing in Your Health: Treating Hearing Loss
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 36 million Americans have a hearing loss—this includes 17% of our adult population. The incidence of hearing loss increases with age. Approximately one third of Americans between ages 65 and 74 and nearly half of those over age 75 have hearing loss. Hearing loss is the third most …
Talking about Hearing Loss: Why Your Disclosure Method Matters
Hearing loss interferes with the ability to communicate easily and effectively. Those who have had untreated hearing loss for a while might already understand this difficulty in communication. Untreated hearing loss is a danger because communication is at the heart of all our social relationships, and if we don’t have ways of communicating with others, we become socially isolated. When …
All About Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a very common condition. About 30 million Americans have some form of tinnitus. This figure creeps up to over a quarter of all Americans aged 65 to 84 years. If you’ve ever wondered what this common condition is all about, then read on. Tinnitus is the experience of hearing a sound that is not caused by any actual physical sound …
Understanding Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), together with age-related hearing loss, is one of the most widespread types of hearing loss. It happens when we are subject to hazardous noise concentrations, whether on a long or short term basis. It is classified as a type of sensorineural hearing loss caused by damage to the internal organs of the ear. Noise-related hearing loss is irreversible, …
As an Invisible Disability, Hearing Loss Often Goes Ignored
Hearing loss can start subtly and develop over years. Because of this lack of visibility, it is easy for people to be unaware of the severity of their condition. People with hearing loss are among those whose condition is overlooked, belittled and subject to stereotypes based on widespread ignorance. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders …
May is Better Speech and Hearing Month!
When the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) designated May as Better Hearing and Speech Month back in 1927, their goal was to raise awareness about speech and hearing challenges. More importantly it was a call to action to encourage people to treat their own hearing and speech problems. That mission is just as important today as it was 92 years ago. …
The Benefits of Treating Hearing Loss
The most common type of hearing loss today is sensorineural hearing loss. This comes from damage to the inner ear structures that are tasked with receiving auditory information. The most widely used and effective treatment for this type of hearing loss is hearing aids. But how much benefit do we really benefit from hearing aids? A lot, it seems. In a …
Encouraging a Loved One to Take a Hearing Test
Communication is the most important thing to maintain in any relationship, and some people are certainly better at this than their partners are. But when one person in a couple has hearing loss, communication on both sides will suffer. This can erode any relationship, no matter how strong the foundations are. Are you finding that your loved one doesn’t hear …
Recognizing the Signs of Hearing Loss
When you stub your toe, your body wastes no time in letting you know that it has happened. But this is not usually the case with hearing damage. The effects occur very slowly over a number of years, and when it finally begins to make itself known, it never leaves. The daily changes are so small that it’s tough to …