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FOUR
Hearing Aids Can Transform Your Life
Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D.
People purchase their first
hearing aids usually because they’ve recognized
that their hearing has worsened. In other words,
some critical incident in their life has caused
them to realize that their hearing loss was negatively
impacting their life or the life of a loved one.
Some finally realized that they were missing the
finer aspects of life such as music, the softly
voiced communication from their grandchildren,
or the ability to comprehend what was going on
at social gatherings or at the theatre; they found
themselves being left behind socially, and more
and more they became isolated from the common
human experience. Underperforming on the job,
some experienced being passed over for promotions
and salary increases. Baby Boomers on the dating
scene in their 50s found themselves challenged
in meaningful conversation, underpinning many
relationship failures. Furthermore, some caregivers
actually endangered their grandchildren because
denial of hearing loss put their loved ones at
risk. The second reason people try hearing aids
is that they feel pressure from family members
negatively impacted by the individual’s
hearing loss. Family members find it exhausting
to be the ears for their loved one who is in denial,
and finally after long years of frustration and
countless arguments, the individual visits a hearing
health professional.
As you know by now, hearing
loss occurs gradually. By the time you recognize
a need for hearing aids, whether because you have
come to that realization on your own or others
have pushed you to it, your quality of life may
have deteriorated unnecessarily. Although the
majority (65 percent) of people with hearing loss
are below the age of 65 and 27 percent of all
people with hearing loss are below the age of
55, the average first-time hearing aid wearer
is close to 70 years of age.1-5
The vast majority of individuals
have decided to wait to correct their faulty hearing
with hearing aids (77 percent of all people
who admit to hearing loss). I suspect that
while they may be aware their hearing has deteriorated,
they delay hearing aid purchases with the excuses:
“my hearing loss is not bad enough yet;
I can get by without them; my hearing loss is
mild.” Yet half of these people report
they’ve never had their hearing professionally
tested. Amazingly, 40 percent of people with the
most serious hearing loss (the top 50 percent
with hearing loss) had not yet had their hearing
tested, believing their problem was benign!2
A large number of people wait
15 years or more from the point when they first
recognize they have a hearing loss to when they
purchase their first hearing aids. This is a tragedy
because they might not be aware of the impact
this delayed decision has had on their life and
the lives of their family, friends, and associates.
Let’s now review the literature on the impact
of hearing loss on quality of life.
Hearing
loss and Quality of Life
The literature presents a compelling
story of the social, psychological, cognitive,
and health effects of hearing loss. Impaired hearing
results in distorted or incomplete communication,
leading to greater isolation and withdrawal and
therefore lower sensory input. In turn, the individual’s
life space and social life become restricted.
One would logically think that a constricted life
would negatively impact the psychosocial well-being
of people with hearing loss.
Dr. Carmen presented a number
of emotional issues in Chapter One surrounding
hearing loss. Here’s a quick review, with
some additional ones. The literature associates
hearing loss with embarrassment, fatigue, irritability,
tension and stress, anger, avoidance of social
activities, withdrawal from social situations,
depression, negativism, danger to personal safety,
rejection by others, reduced general health, loneliness,
social isolation, less alertness to the environment,
impaired memory, less adaptability to learning
new tasks, paranoia, reduced coping skills, and
reduced overall psychological health. For those
who are still in the workforce, uncorrected hearing
loss must have a negative impact on overall job
effectiveness, promotion, and perhaps lifelong
earning power. Few would disagree that uncorrected
hearing loss per se is a serious issue.
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