Hearing and Hearing Loss
Disabling hearing loss is far more common than most people are likely to assume. Though less than three out of every babies born in the US have some kind of congenital hearing loss, this percentage increases steadily with age. In fact, by the time we are surveying people aged 75 and above, we find an astonishing percentage of them dealing with hearing loss: more than half.
There are all kinds of causes that lead to hearing loss. Our hearing depends on the smooth operations of the minuscule hairs within our inner ears that work like antennae. They vibrate when they detect sound waves. Their vibrations pulse against our ear drums, which then send the signals to our brains almost instantaneously and our brains decode these signals and translate them into sounds that we can attribute and spatialize. The vast majority of the time hearing loss is caused by damage to these hairs. Such damage is incurable and irreversible. And we each have such an incredible number of these hairs, however, that we are unlikely to notice the effects of damage to a few at a time. The loss is incredibly gradual. And because the loss happens so gradually, we often fail to adapt our behaviors to prevent further loss.
What Causes Hearing Loss and Just How Common Is it
How can it be that an epidemic of such proportions—impacting more than 50% of everyone over the age of 75—can be rampaging through our society and it hardly gets any attention? First of all, hearing loss is an invisible disability. You cannot tell that someone suffers from hearing loss simply by looking at them. And hearing loss is rarely represented in popular culture in Tv shows or movies. If it is ever represented it would most likely be the defining detail about the character. But this could not be further from the truth. It is not possible to get exact numbers because hearing loss is so frequently minimized and left untreated, but our best estimates agree that around 14% of the entire population lives with some degree or other of detectable hearing loss.
This percentage increases steadily from birth to old age, affecting over 15% of everyone in the US over the age of 18 and more than a third of everyone aged 65 and over. This gradual progression happens because so many potential causes are normalized in our day to day lives. Entertainment venues such as concerts and sporting events can cause permanent damage. Workplace environments such as factories or construction sites can cause permanent damage. Repeated exposures increase the risk, so as people age they continually accrue a range of exposures.
The Effects of Untreated Loss
Considering how common hearing loss is, it makes sense that we might assume that its treatment is just as common. The truth about this however is incredibly discouraging. Studies find that less than 20% of everyone who suffers from hearing loss takes appropriate treatment action. There is no one reason why this number should be so dismal. It is likely partially the result of the fact that hearing loss is indeed so common. People may assume that is so many other people live with it then it can’t really be that bad. Furthermore, people are likely to downplay its impact for all kinds of psychological reasons. No one wants to admit that they are getting old. We have all kinds of defenses built in to our psyches that prevent us from admitting that certain ailments we may detect might never be repairable. So we block them out. It is difficult enough to recognize hearing loss in yourself already because its symptoms come on so gradually, but these psychological defenses make it even more difficult.
But It is not just a minor inconvenience. People are likely to first feel the true impacts of their hearing loss when out in public spaces with background noise, especially trying to follow a conversation with two or more people. Trouble following the conversation leads to frustration. You are working harder to piece together meaning, filling in the blanks quick as you can, best you can. This increased efforts leads to fatigue. It is a quick and accelerating slope from there into social withdrawal, loneliness, depression.
All this creates a sense of being overwhelmed, a sense of powerlessness. But take back your sense of control today. Make an appointment with one of our trained specialists to guarantee that you are enjoying your life to the fullest, capturing in the greatest fidelity all those moments that give our lives joy.