Hearing loss is common; 1 out of 10 Americans suffer from some form of
hearing loss.  And hearing loss is not funny—it can lead to a feeling of
isolation, sadness, and even, paranoia.  Sometimes people with hearing loss
are thought to have dementia, when they are perfectly fine mentally—others
don’t realize the reason a person with hearing loss can’t understand something
is because they just can’t hear.   And getting help for your hearing loss can
dramatically improve your life.

In order to prevent hearing loss:

  • Limit your intake of aspirin if possible to no more than the recommended
    dosage.
  • Plug your ears if an ambulance goes by, or if a load noise, such as a
    jackhammer, bombards you.  Load noises can damage the tiny hairs in
    your ears, permanently.

In order to treat hearing Loss:
  • Modern hearing aids can help the in some noisy situations.
  • Amplified telephones are now available to help people with hearing loss.
  • Some public places (i.e. movie, place of worship) provide assistive
    listening devices (such as headphones that plug into the mike of the
    speaker) for the hard-of-hearing.

In addition to hearing more, some good reasons to treat hearing loss:
  • Treatment of hearing loss will improve mood and interpersonal
    relationships.
  • Hard-of-hearing people are less likely to be discriminated against if they
    use hearing instruments.
  • Using a hearing aid is associated with improved perceptions of your
    mental ability.
Hear Me!
Hearing and Communication
from  Living Olcer, Living Better! by Katrina Gwinn, MD