Adult Hearing Health Fact Sheet

Medical Implications and Attention
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• Hearing loss is an unaddressed health condition; it is the 3rd most common physical condition in adults after arthritis and heart disease.
• The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age; men are twice as likely as women to have hearing loss.
• Numerous studies show that untreated hearing loss is linked to a wide range of physical and emotional conditions: irritability, anger, fatigue, tension, stress, depression, avoidance or withdrawal from social situations, social rejection and loneliness, reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety, impaired memory, reduced job performance, and diminished overall health.

Hearing Aid Usage

• Most adults with hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids.
• Advances in digital technology have dramatically improved hearing aids. Hearing aids are smaller, with better sound quality. They provide greater clarity and directionality, better speech audibility, better cell phone compatibility, and less whistling and feedback then hearing aids of the past.

 
  
Common Signs and Symptoms

The signs of hearing loss can be subtle and emerge slowly, or can manifest suddenly.

• Socially, individuals with hearing loss may:
  Require frequent repetition
  Have difficulty following conversations involving more than two people
  Think other people sound muffled or mumble
  Have difficulty hearing in noisy situations  like restaurants, malls, crowds
  Have trouble hearing children and women
  Keep the TV or radio turned up to a high volume
  Answer or respond inappropriately in conversations
  Hear ringing in their ears (tinnitus) read lips intently when in conversation

 

• Emotionally, individuals with hearing loss may:
  Feel stressed from straining to hear what others are saying
  Feel annoyed at others because they can't hear or understand them
  

           Withdraw from social situations that they once enjoyed
 

• Medically, individuals with hearing loss may/may not:
  Have a family history of hearing loss
  Have taken medications that can harm the hearing system (ototoxic drugs)
  Have diabetes, heart, circulation, or thyroid problems
  Have been exposed to very loud sounds

 
 
Sources: The Better Hearing and Speech Council (BHSC) USAHearing Loss Association of America (HLAA): http://www.hearingloss.org/content/basic-facts-about-hearing-loss