HEARING LOSS:

Hearing Loss is one of the most common yet least addressed disabilities that people have to deal with. The significance of a hearing loss is it causes difficulties with communications which get progressively worse as the hearing deteriorates. Typically normal speech is recorded at about 50-60 decibels in a normal environment. A person is considered to have a significant hearing loss* if he or she has trouble hearing at below 35 decibels.
Approximately 10 percent of the world’s population is affected by some form of hearing loss.
* Source:  World health Organisation (WHO)


TYPES OF HEARING LOSS:

  • Hearing loss can be classified into two main types: Congenital and Acquired.

 
Congenital Hearing Loss Acquired Hearing Loss
Congenital hearing loss is something people are born with. Acquired hearing loss simply means a hearing loss that manifests itself during the course of our lives. There are also many reasons for this, including disease or injury.
There can be reasons for this, including damage that occurs in the womb or at birth. Women who are exposed to German measles (Rubella) or other viral diseases during their pregnancies have a very high risk of giving birth to a baby with a serious hearing problem. However, the two biggest causes are exposure to damaging levels of noise and natural deterioration due to the aging process.
The average age when a child is diagnosed with hearing loss is around 2.5 years. Many people will start to experience some degree of measurable hearing loss by the time they are in their fifties.
By that time, the child has suffered sensory deprivation causing developmental problems that take time, effort and money to overcome. By the age of 60, one in three people is affected.
If hearing loss is diagnosed in a new-born, hearing aids will help the vast majority avoid problems and they will lead a normal life. Noise-induced deafness (NID) is caused by exposure to loud or constant noise/sound
  People in “noisy” industries such as metal fabrication, forging and stamping, manufacture of furniture and printing are prone to NID.
  Exposure to noise at or above 85 decibels (equivalent to heavy traffic noise) for more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week is considered hazardous and in many countries exposure is regulated by law.
  Doctors say a person suffering from NID may lose part or all of his hearing. Or he may experience tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ear.

 


SYMPTOMS OF HEARING LOSS:

  • Hearing loss affects one in ten people. Some signs that would indicate someone is losing their hearing would be:
    • Your family finds you turning up the TV volume louder than normal
    • You ask people to repeat themselves
    • You find others not speaking clearly enough
  • People with hearing loss have problems understanding speech, especially in noisy places. They can hear someone speaking, but they lose the clarity of the words.

CHECKING YOUR HEARING

What steps should you take if you have a hearing problem?

First-time hearing aid shoppers wonder where to begin. Where do you go to get a hearing aid? Unlike most consumer purchases, you can’t just walk into a store and pick out one. You are buying an expensive piece of electronic equipment that someone has to adjust to your specific hearing needs. Because many hearing aids are custom-moulded and custom-adjusted to your needs, you can’t easily “try one on for size.” Your hearing care professional can give you good examples of amplification, but these demonstrations will not necessarily sound exactly like your own hearing aids. You also need to stay away from ordering an aid online or through the mail-order advertisements for devices that look like hearing aids. A “discount” price just for the aid does not include the necessary services for testing, fitting, and after care.