Wednesday, June 26, 2002

Getting help for hearing loss

Hearing loss is a serious problem that deserves professional care. A hearing loss can be a barrier between you and your family and friends, make it more difficult in the workplace, and interfere in the classroom. People with hearing loss tend to feel more isolated, tend to socialize less and may even feel worse about their health.

You may be someone who decided to do something about your hearing loss. Surprisingly, most people with hearing loss do nothing about it.

Once someone with a hearing loss seeks help, what factors determine how well he or she will do? The hearing loss itself is important, of course, but other factors may be even more important. These include the individual's personality, hearing needs, choice of provider, choice of hearing aids and family support.

The hearing loss

Hearing loss patterns are like snowflakes ­ no two are the same. One person might have a moderate conductive hearing loss with excellent word understanding ability. Another person might have a severe sensorineural hearing loss with significant sound distortion, a severely reduced ability to understand speech, and hypersensitivity to loud sounds.

Is it any wonder that the first person hears quite well with hearing aids, while the second person may continue to have significant hearing difficulties, even with the best hearing aids available? These differences are often due to the person's hearing loss pattern more than the particular hearing aids used.

Personality

Are you easy-going or demanding? Do you look at the glass as half-full ("I can hear pretty well most of the time,") or half-empty ("Something's wrong! I can't hear everyone when I'm with a group of five or six people"). Do you "take charge" of your hearing problems and hearing healthcare, or do you look to the experts to solve your hearing problems?

The person who acknowledges his or her hearing loss has chosen the most positive approach. Instead of wasting energy trying to hide the problem, this person concentrates on making sure he or she is hearing as well as possible.

The least effective approach is the person who insists he or she can't have a hearing loss, no matter what everyone else says. Nothing can be done until someone acknowledges he or she may have a hearing loss.

Hearing needs

How well do you want to hear? Some people simply want their hearing to be "good enough" most of the time. It may make sense for this person to make compromises in their hearing healthcare.

For the person who wants to hear as well as possible, it's crucial to get the most suitable size and style hearing aids, and in almost all cases, two aids are better than one. And hearing aids aren't the only source of hearing help!

For example, lipreading can be as helpful as a third hearing aid (and a lot less expensive). Devices such as telephone and television amplifiers can provide tremendous help.

Your hearing healthcare provider

One of your most important decisions is your choice of hearing healthcare provider. Our goal is to work with you to evaluate your hearing and hearing needs, help you make informed decisions about the best hearing help (such as hearing aids), and then work with you to make sure you're hearing as well as possible. Our role is to provide better hearing, not simply sell hearing aids.

Family and friends

Finally, if you can help family, friends and co-workers understand about hearing loss, they can be your allies in coping with your communication needs. After all, your hearing loss can affect your family and friends almost as much as it affects you, so the more they know and understand about your hearing loss, the better it is for everyone.

These are just some of the factors we consider as we work with you toward one goal: hearing as well as possible.

Andrew Waits

Clinical audiologist