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Have you been having to ask people to repeat themselves more often than not these days? Do you find that watching TV with friends or family has recently turned into arguments about the volume, rather than what you are watching? If you answered yes, then there is a good chance you have some degree of hearing loss.
There are a lot of misconceptions about hearing loss that keep people from seeking treatment even though treatment has the potential to improve your hearing situation. Here are a few myths about hearing loss that keep people from dealing with their condition and why they just don’t hold up.
Myth: Hearing aids are ugly
Fact: The hearing aids of older generations were loud and cumbersome. Today, hearing aids are available in various sizes, styles and colors. Depending on your degree of hearing loss, a more discrete model might be your fancy, while other users may enjoy or benefit from a larger model which supports dexterity issues. Feel free to choose hearing aids that speak to your style and identity.
Myth: Hearing aids are just for the elderly
Fact: Hearing loss affects people of all age groups. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) reports that one in eight people in the United States (13 percent, or 30 million) aged 12 years or older has hearing loss in both ears. Many people of a younger generation are affected by exposure to loud noise at work. In many cases the prevalence of headphone use with personal listening devices has created permanent hearing loss for a young generation. Make sure to have your hearing tested annually, no matter what your age. The sooner you catch a hearing loss and treat it, the sooner you can start to prevent the development of mental, emotional and physical health risks related to untreated hearing loss.
Myth: Hearing aids will make everything sound too loud.
Fact: When you have your hearing tested, your hearing healthcare professional will be able to understand exactly what your hearing threshold is. They will also understand exactly what sounds you are struggling with in your hearing loss. This enables your hearing aid provider to program your hearing aids digitally to amplify only the sounds you struggle with, while keeping the sounds you can still hear at a non-amplified level.
Myth: Hearing aids will restore my hearing to normal.
Fact: Hearing aids are amazing devices which can help you hear sounds you may have not heard in years. They do not actually heal your hearing loss. Most cases of hearing loss occur when the tiny cells of the inner ear become damaged or destroyed. This hinders sound from actually reaching the brain. Unfortunately, there is no way to rebuild these cells once they are damaged. While hearing aids can’t fix the problem they can “aid” in helping you hear the sounds your brain would otherwise struggle to receive.
Myth: Buying hearing aids online or by mail saves me time and money.
Fact: When you visit an audiologist or hearing healthcare professional, they will give you a hearing test to gage your hearing ability. This allows them to program your hearing aids specifically to amplify the sounds you need. When you order hearing aids online, even if there is an online hearing test, the results will not be specific enough. Hearing aids don’t only need to be programmed but fitted tight in your ear canal and tested to ensure they work correctly. You cannot receive this online or in the mail.
Myth: I’ve tried hearing aids before, and they didn’t work for me.
Fact: Hearing aid technology is always changing and becoming more user-friendly and specific. If you have used hearing aids a decade or two ago, things have definitely changed. Hearing aids today are less likely to cause feedback than the old analog ones of the past. They also offer compatibility features with Smartphones and televisions via Bluetooth as well as advanced background suppression, rechargeable batteries, wind reduction and more. To find out how advanced hearing aids have become since the last time you tried them, contact them and give it a second chance.
Act Now!
The sooner you take the leap and invest in treating your hearing, the sooner you can invest in your relationships, your health and your quality of life as you age. Make the call today and schedule a hearing test now!