Opening the door to better hearing

Easing the barriers that keep people from seeking help

“Many people with hearing loss feel that a door has been closed - and they are on the outside looking in on the everyday world of family, friends, work and play,” stated Dr. Andrew Waits of Waits Hearing Aid Center in Fayetteville.

Waits recently attended a special Conference on Hearing Health where leading researchers, clinicians and educators discussed the newest ways to help people to “open the door” to better hearing by overcoming their anxieties and fears about living in the isolated world of hearing loss. Over 700 leading U.S. hearing care professionals attended the three-day conference, held in San Diego and in Orlando.

“It’s a paradox. Many people with untreated hearing loss retreat from the hearing world - becoming isolated, depressed and, often, angry that they can no longer fully participate in life. Yet, despite the incredible advances in the field of hearing care in recent years, many choose to remain in their silent world rather than take advantage of the variety of advanced hearing aids now available,” said Waits.

New findings presented at the conference indicate that, over time, the frustration or annoyance that people with hearing loss experience from others as they attempt to participate in a hearing world causes them to retreat into an isolated, “more comfortable” world of their own.

“We are all human. Eventually even the most attentive wife grows tired of repeating conversations to her hearing impaired husband. Business associates or friends who feel they have to scream to be heard lose their patience with individuals who don’t address their hearing loss,” noted Waits. “For people with hearing loss, these perceived rejections generate frustration that causes them to see the hearing world as hostile and unwelcoming.”

Waits explained that through ongoing counsel and support, hearing care professionals can gently transition people with hearing loss into world of hearing, at a pace and comfort level that is right for the individual.

“With the enormous advances in hearing aid technology, better hearing is a possibility for more people with hearing loss than ever before,” he stated. “By combining advanced hearing aid technology with caring, supportive counsel, we can help open a door to a life that people with hearing loss had thought was closed forever.”

Waits emphasized that each person makes the transformation from existing in the isolated world of hearing loss to functioning in a fuller world of hearing at a different rate. “I want to assure people that through counsel and support that transformation can be a welcome and rewarding one for them and for the family, friends and co-workers who care about them.”

For more information about hearing loss, contact Waits at 770-461-0043.