By ANDY WAITS
Special to The Citizen

Hearing aids are remarkable devices. These small electronic instruments can make the difference between hearing and not hearing. They can allow a person to continue working, make communication with family and friends easier, or help a child learn how to speak.

Just how helpful are hearing aids? A study of nearly 200 adults found that hearing aids are “very successful treatments for reversing the social, emotional and communication dysfunction caused by hearing impairments.”

Most of the people involved in the study had mild or moderate hearing loss, and none had ever used hearing aids. Nearly all the individuals reported that their hearing loss was causing problems in their daily lives.

The researchers evaluated the effects of hearing loss on each person's quality of life. They used four questionnaires, such as the Self-Evaluation of Life Function and the Hearing Handicap Inventory.

The questionnaires asked about the person's daily activities, ability to hear in different settings and feelings and attitudes about hearing problems. The investigators found that “marked social, emotional and communication difficulties are caused by hearing loss...even in cases of (only) mild to moderate loss.”

Half of the individuals were then fit with hearing aids. Six weeks later, questionnaires were again used to study the effects of hearing loss on each person's daily life.

Those results indicated “large quality of life improvements in the areas of communication and social function” in those individuals who received hearing aids, but not in those who did not. Everyone in the study was subsequently fit with hearing aids.

Based on the results of this study, the researchers concluded that “hearing aids represent a relatively inexpensive therapy for the amount of benefit gained.”

The finding that hearing aids provided considerable help are, of course, no surprise to us. We also know that the problems caused by hearing loss can be frustrating, even when hearing aids are providing important benefits. Everyone we know would like their hearing aids to help even more — but it's also important to remember just how much hearing aids actually do help.

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