Category — Hearing Loss Info

Of the millions of people worldwide burdened with hearing loss, many do not seek treatment. Yet, when one member of a family has a hearing problem, it affects the entire family. It changes lifestyles and the quality of life.

A major complaint among couples and families, without regard to hearing loss, is the breakdown of communication. Families find it increasingly more difficult to talk with one another for a myriad of reasons. Hearing loss only further exacerbates this problem.

The inability to properly communicate with a spouse, family member or friend places incredible strain on relationships. Not only do misunderstandings occur, but often people become annoyed and even angry. These issues compound the communication problem and further stress relationships.

It all starts out funny, making jokes about how you misunderstood a word and responded so off-the-wall everyone just laughed.  It’s funny at first. Then after it happens more and more, even though you try to keep the laughter going, somehow it all changes.

After awhile you often try to seem preoccupied with something else when people talk to you.  Most of the time you find yourself smiling and agreeing with what was said, even though you didn’t have a clue.

Then it all hits the fan when you seem out of touch at work and especially at home with those you’re the closest to.

Anger, suspicion, frustration on every level with other people and even themselves.

Missing words in conversations leads to a lot of personal issues.  At least it did for me.  I remember so well coming away from a dinner, and my son told me I responded incorrectly or was off subject when I was interjecting my thoughts.

It didn’t bother me so much that I didn’t get what was said right.  What really bothered me was what the others must have thought of me when I didn’t get it right.  I felt so embarrassed.

I have a high frequency hearing loss.  It’s not volume but understanding certain parts of words that causes me to think they said something completely different than what was actually said.

Some questions are hard to voice – many times we don’t want to admit that we might actually have a problem with our hearing, much less investigate the questions that come up once we do consider that we might need help.

Click the play button below and listen to this interesting and candid interview that covers all of the questions about hearing and hearing loss that you have always wanted to ask.

(If you haven’t yet seen the video about the importance of early detection, click here to watch it now)

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Technorati Tags: Hearing Aids, hearing loss, hearing loss correction

I have been asked this question at least 4 to 6 times a week.  You may think this sounds strange; however, this is asked by people who are close to, or are friends of, someone who has a hearing loss.

It’s not that they haven’t tried or told their family member or friend to get a hearing aid.  The person who is losing out and misunderstanding conversations often doesn’t see the need — or their ego prevents them from taking steps to get help.

Over the last 35 years of helping people hear better, I have found the best way to encourage someone who has put off for years getting help is to realize you are perhaps the reason they are not getting that help.

Normal hearing is considered normal, even if you have down to a 30 to 35 decibel hearing loss.  If you have normal hearing and stick your fingers in your ears, that’s about what a 30 decibel hearing loss would sound like.

What is considered perfect hearing is usually the norm for very young people.  In fact, that’s how they arrived at what decibel level was considered normal.  They simply tested many very young children and averaged their responses.

Many are confused by the term “open fitting” in relation to their hearing.  The term “open fitting” is describing how the feeling would be when you are wearing your hearing aid.  You want an open, not an occluded or plugged up, feeling.

Open fittings are used when a patient has a high frequency hearing loss.  This means that they hear most of the lower tones in a normal range.  With this type of loss, fitting the hearing aid with any mold that occludes or fills up the ear canal would, in most cases, prevent the wearer from hearing the low tones.  This causes your voice to sound hollow or you would get a plugged up feeling, like when you talk with your nose plugged up.

Sons or daughters are often the caretakers for their parents.  Or at least they are usually consulted with before any major purchases such as a hearing aid.

My advice is, of course, to make sure they have seen their Doctor and get a hearing test to be sure a hearing aid will benefit them.

The next issue that is most important when getting a hearing aid is the servicing aspect of the aid.  Purchasing a hearing aid is the most important first step.  However, without proper cleaning and servicing, that great-sounding amplification won’t last long.

With age comes a lower level of tolerance for many people and nothing contributes to those low tolerance levels quite like an undiagnosed hearing loss. When you lose your ability to hear and do not get it corrected with a hearing aid, you begin to lose not only one of your senses, but you lose your sense of who you are.

You no longer have any confidence that you can follow a conversation in a group setting – there goes your social skills.

The dialogue in the movie theater is distorted – there goes your outing to the movies with friends and loved ones.

It’s a beautiful sunny day and you’re driving along, minding your own business when suddenly a car backs out of a driveway right in front of you but you don’t have time to react because your view was blocked by a cube van parked at the curb. You shout to your passenger, “Did you see that? Why didn’t you warn me?”

Your passenger looks at you and you realize that they did warn you but you didn’t hear them.

Maybe you have been slowly losing your hearing or your doctor hasn’t diagnosed your hearing loss yet. In any case, a hearing aid could have prevented this accident or one much worse where someone could have been hurt very badly.