By Maheen Khokhar, MSc CCC-A

Imagine living in a world with no sound – if you could not hear laughter, birds chirping, the wind blowing through trees. At least 28 million U.S. adults have hearing loss.  After hypertension and arthritis, it is the most common chronic health problem in older individuals.  The impact of hearing loss on society will increase as baby boomers age, because of the age-specific prevalence of hearing loss and the comorbidities associated with aging such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac issues correlating with a higher incidence of hearing impairment.

Despite its prevalence hearing loss is under recognized and under treated. This may be because its onset is insidious or because of the belief that it is an unavoidable and relatively unimportant consequence of aging. Most people wait an average of 10 years before seeking a solution for hearing loss. Yet being able to communicate is the cornerstone of healthy aging as well as maintaining auditory function, balance and cognition. Hearing loss impacts the ability to thrive in the workplace, our enjoyment of music, movies, media and our engagement with family and friends.

Hearing loss is not only associated with decreased quality of life, but also cognitive decline, Dementia, isolation, depression and a 3- fold increase in fall risk.

While age is still the greatest factor in hearing loss, many younger people also experience hearing difficulty due to unsafe listening practices on personal devices, occupational and recreational noise exposure.

Audiologists specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing, balance, tinnitus disorders and identify when the cause is medically treatable or requires intervention with hearing aids, assistive listening devices, cochlear implants and other technologies in addition to provision of individualized auditory rehabilitation and hearing conservation.

Common symptoms and signs of hearing loss indicating the need for audiologic evaluation include the following:

  • Perceiving that people mumble
  • Have trouble hearing over the telephone
  • Difficulty understanding conversations in a group
  • Frequently asking people to repeat what they are saying
  • Difficulty following conversations in restaurants or other noisy places
  • Turning up the volume on the television or radio to levels that are bothersome to others, trouble hearing at movies or theater
  • Difficulty understanding people when their faces cannot be seen
  • Impatience, irritation, or frustration during conversations, straining to hear
  • Hearing ringing, buzzing, beeping, or other noises in your ear(s) or head
  • Hearing better in one ear than the other

If a hearing loss has been diagnosed, then it is imperative to seek treatment sooner than later. Correcting hearing loss can slow down the progression of auditory deprivation can be the key factor in controlling the risk of cognitive decline.

Hearing devices today use artificial intelligence to provide the brain a good neural code which allows it to make sense of speech in complex listening environments, seamlessly with unparalleled precision and access to full precisely balanced sound scenes.

Everyone should have a free baseline hearing test and begin annually monitoring their hearing. When was your last hearing test?

Maheen Khokhar, MSc CCC-A is the Audiologist at Hearing Life Denville. She can be reached at mahk@hearinglife.com or 973 627-0009. Our mission is to help people with hearing loss reach their full hearing potential.