The Pain and Frustration a Hearing Loss Causes, Part 1
Every day we talk to many people – from our family, at work, and to people we don’t know. Have you ever thought about how many people you actually speak to every day? Now think about how many times you speak to those you’re close to? Interestingly, when we talk we take for granted that we are being heard.
Very seldom do we miss the signs that someone with a hearing loss isn’t really hearing us. Oh they can hear you talking; however what you said may not have been understood or perhaps even misinterpreted. I’m sure you know how different any sentence could be understood just by changing one or several words.
Going to Work With a Hearing Loss, Part 2
Among the study’s key findings:
• While people with treated and untreated hearing loss both earn less than people with normal hearing, for people with more severe hearing loss the income decline is cut in half for hearing aid owners. For example, the difference in income between people with mild versus profound hearing loss is $20,300 per year for those with untreated hearing loss and $10,200 for those with hearing aids.
• For every 10 percent increment in hearing loss, the income disparity between those with untreated hearing loss and those with hearing aids increases at the rate of approximately $1,000.
• The estimated cost in lost earnings due to untreated hearing loss is $122 billion, with the cost to the government in unrealized federal taxes at $18 billion.
• Currently, more than 24 million people in the United States who say they have hearing loss do not use hearing aids.
Going to Work With a Hearing Loss, Part 1
All of us go to work whether it’s for someone else or perhaps our own business. I remember my first job and I’m sure you do as well. When we work for someone, what is expected of us is to perform at the best of our ability.
How important is communication in any work environment? How good a job could you do if you couldn’t hear instructions or you misunderstood what was being said? Who would you promote in your business if you had to choose between someone who seemed like they couldn’t follow instructions and someone who performed everything that was asked?
It is very understandable why one of the most important studies about hearing loss and the work place conducted by Sergei Kochkin Ph.D. concluded:
Marriage, Divorce and Hearing Loss, Part 2
Resentment can go both ways – from the person having to put out so much effort trying to communicate, as well as the person with the hearing loss. The person with the hearing loss will often lay blame for their hearing loss on the other person. They often say, “If you would just speak clearly I could understand what you said”. It’s easy to understand also the resentment caused when the person with the hearing loss refuses to do anything to correct the hearing loss. Please don’t let a hearing loss effect you needlessly like this.
The good news is there is a very simple, painless solution. I have helped thousands of people save their relationships just by correcting their hearing loss. Hearing aids can make communication easy.
Marriage, Divorce and Hearing Loss, Part 1
If you are married and have a hearing loss or are married to someone who has a hearing loss, you no doubt are already experiencing many challenges when it comes to communication with your partner.
We all know that communication is the key to any relationship. Best friends are called that because they usually know each other very, very well. That closeness came about because of very good communication on many different levels. No one will argue that the closer the communication between two people, the closer the relationship.
Medication and Hearing Loss, Part 2
Higher than recommended doses of NSAIDS, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, have long been known to cause hearing loss. This fact has been known for many years by physicians and hearing professionals. What is extraordinarily concerning is how many doctors, and television ads for that matter, recommend a daily aspirin regimen to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. While there are dozens of causes of hearing loss, there is little known about how over-the-counter medications can specifically affect hearing loss risk in adults and children. The affect of medications on hearing loss appears to be cumulative; the risk of hearing loss significantly increasing over lifetime use of over-the-counter pain medications.
Medication and Hearing Loss, Part 1
There are many research studies proving top-volume music and excessive loud noise can cause hearing loss. Hearing loss patients who have spent their entire lives protecting their ears may not understand exactly why or how they lost their hearing anyway. There is a surprising study, called the Health Professional’s Follow Up Study, which may prove a commonly used group of medications can cause hearing loss. Acetaminophen, aspirin and ibuprofen are three of the most commonly used over-the-counter medications in the United States. All three, used on a regular basis, can cause hearing loss in older Americans.
What Most People Don’t Know About Hearing Loss, Part 3
What can anyone do to prevent the loss of understanding words due to a hearing loss? It is so important that you get your hearing routinely checked just like you do your eyes. I tell everyone that early detection and early correction of a hearing loss will help minimize the effects of a hearing loss. You know when you’re not getting everything; believe me those close to you will tell you if you’re not sure. As I mentioned before, patients that lose their ability of understanding speech usually do so because of a progressive hearing loss over a long period of time. Also we believe this is due to sound deprivation caused by the hearing loss.
What Most People Don’t Know About Hearing Loss, Part 2
The loss of one’s ability to understand words, I believe, is the biggest challenge for any patient to understand. After all, they bought what they were told was the very best hearing aid for them. Typically, the longer period of time the patient has had an uncorrected hearing loss, the worse their discrimination or speech understanding score is.
What Most People Don’t Know About Hearing Loss, Part 1
Everyone knows what a hearing loss is. It’s when you just can’t hear at the level we consider normal. The level for normal hearing was established by testing a lot of very young children at different frequencies that make up speech. The average decibel level these children heard is what we call normal hearing.
Hearing aids are not usually recommended until a hearing loss is detected below the 30 to 35 db levels. A person whose hearing is at this level usually is asking people to repeat or misunderstanding words in conversations.
So what is it that most people don’t know about hearing loss?
