What to do if you think you have a hearing loss
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Hearing loss usually creeps up on us over time, caused by exposure to loud noises, aging, or some combination of the two.
Statistics show that the prevalence of hearing loss doubles for every decade of life(2), which explains why one out of three people 65-74 have hearing loss, nearly half over 75 have it(3), and four out of five people 85+(4) have hearing loss.
In other words, for most of us, hearing loss is normal and natural — just part of living a long, eventful life.
Here are six things you should do if and when hearing loss happens to you.
1. Get your hearing tested
If you think you have hearing loss, get your hearing tested. To do that, visit a hearing healthcare professional such as an audiologist to get a thorough, definitive hearing evaluation.
2. Choose between ignoring it…
If it turns out you have hearing loss, you have a choice — you can ignore it and deal with the challenges, or you can treat it.
Some of the challenges of hearing loss are subtle and barely noticeable, like needing things to be repeated, or missing out on small everyday sounds.
Some are more obvious and impactful, like mishearing important information, or feeling left out of conversations and activities.
Still others can be profound, health-related issues, like how hearing loss is linked to increased risks of depression, anxiety, falls and hospitalizations, social isolation, and even dementia(5).
…or treating it
Doctors and scientists from institutions including Johns Hopkins Medicine and
Columbia University have long noted that treating hearing loss can help with many of these challenges, and studies have shown that for people with hearing loss, using a hearing aid is associated with a reduced risk of falls, depression, anxiety and dementia(6).
3. Visit a hearing healthcare professional such as an Audiologist.
When you are ready to treat your hearing loss — and Johns Hopkins’ Dr. Frank Lin recommends treating it “sooner rather than later…before these brain structural changes take place”(7) —start by talking to your doctor or visit an Audiologist, no referral necessary. Your appointment with a hearing healthcare professional is your chance to get all your questions answered about your hearing loss.
5. Ask to try hearing aids
If hearing loss is confirmed during your appointment, hearing aids will most likely be recommended. In Ontario, hearing aids require a prescription and only an Audiologist or Physician can prescribe them. Hearing aids are by far the most common way to treat hearing loss. They can help a majority of people who have hearing issues.
6. Experience the difference they make
Once you get your hearing aids, take advantage of the trial period and wear them at home, outside, during work, while watching TV or enjoying leisure activities, and around your friends and loved ones. If hearing loss is making life more challenging or less fun, now is a good time to do something about it.
Come see us at Serenity Hearing, no referral necessary.
1. Adapted from a Blog printed by Starkey Hearing Canada (2021) I Think I Have Hearing Loss. Now What? www.starkey.com. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www. starkey.com/blog/articles/2021/03/what-to-do-about-hearing-loss
2. Kevin J. Contrera, M.P.H. (2015) Association of Hearing Impairment and Mortality, JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. JAMA Network. Available at: https://jamanetwork. com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2443702 (Accessed: February 14, 2023).
3. Untreated Hearing Loss in Adults—A Growing National Epidemic. (n.d.). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www. asha.org/articles/untreated-hearing-loss-in-adults.
4. Wattamwar, K., Qian, Z. J., Otter, J., Leskowitz, M. J., Caruana, F. F., Siedlecki, B., Spitzer, J. B., & Lalwani, A. K. (2017). Increases in the Rate of Age-Related Hearing Loss in the Older Old. JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 143(1), 41–45. https://doi.org/10.1001/ jamaoto.2016.2661
5. Hearing Loss Linked to Accelerated Brain Tissue Loss - 01/22/2014. (n.d.). www. hopkinsmedicine.org. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hearing_ loss_linked_to_accelerated_brain_tissue_loss_
6. Mahmoudi, E., Basu, T., Langa, K., McKee, M. M., Zazove, P., Alexander, N., & Kamdar, N. (2019). Can Hearing Aids Delay Time to Diagnosis of Dementia, Depression, or Falls in Older Adults? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(11), 2362–2369. https:// doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16109
7. Hearing Loss Linked to Accelerated Brain Tissue Loss - 01/22/2014. (n.d.). Www. hopkinsmedicine.org. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hearing_ loss_linked_to_accelerated_brain_tissue_loss_