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May is Better Hearing & Speech Month, so it is time to learn the facts about how addressing hearing loss can help change your life.

Why Is Learning About Hearing Loss So Important?

Hearing Loss Infographic 1

You may think, I am too young, or I do not have hearing loss yet so I likely will never experience it, but hearing loss affects all age groups.  People today are losing their hearing faster than their parents and grandparents [3] and almost 50 million Americans experience some type of hearing loss in at least one ear [2]. That is more than the population of California, Oregon, and Washington combined! According to the Hearing Health Foundation, men are more likely than women to experience hearing loss [1]. This means that your husband, father, brother, son, friend, etc. may not be ignoring you nor has selective hearing; they may not be able to hear you. If you think a loved one may have a hearing loss, know the warning signs.

 

Hearing is a miraculous process. It is a journey of sound through the outer, middle and inner ear. Each section contains many different parts which all work together to allow you to hear. Natural hearing is dependent on all of these parts working together, and a problem with any of them can cause a hearing loss. You may have hearing loss in both ears (bilateral) or in just one ear (unilateral), as happens with single-sided deafness. You may have been born with hearing loss, acquired it suddenly as a child or adult, or be experiencing a gradual decline in hearing over time.

Hearing loss does not just affect the loudness at which you can hear sounds, it also reduces the clarity. Everyone’s hearing loss is unique and caused by a variety of factors. However, the similar part is that taking action early is critical to understanding and treating hearing loss. For children it is especially important to notice the warning signs and treat hearing loss as early as possible to help with speech and language development.

During Better Hearing and Speech Month and throughout the year, encourage those with hearing loss who you meet to take the hearing quiz, get their hearing checked and learn more about hearing loss and advanced hearing loss solutions at www.LifesWorthHearing.com.

To help you get started click on the text below to download the General Awareness Flyer PDF.

General-Awareness-Flyer

References:

[1] Hearing Health Foundation (US). Hearing loss & tinnitus statistics [Online]. 2014 Oct. Available: https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/statistics.
[2] Better Hearing Institute (US). Prevalence of hearing loss [Online]. 2014. Available: https://www.betterhearing.org/hearingpedia/prevalence-hearing-loss.
[3] Starkey Hearing Foundation (US). What we do: Listen carefully [Online]. 2014 Oct. Available: https://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/programs#/listencarefully.

Cochlear Guest Writer
Cochlear Americas showcases the stories of real people celebrating life's real moments. This blog was written by a guest writer for Cochlear Americas.