Hearing Awareness Week and World Hearing Day: a reminder to take care of your hearing health
Hearing loss is on the rise.
As the population ages, more and more people are finding hearing loss to be a serious health issue.
And it’s not just a problem of ageing.
As more of us plug into devices, turning up the volume of music or a favourite podcast, people damage their hearing irreversibly.
The workplace can also be a noisy place. Sudden loud noises and constant noise over time can and does damage people’s hearing at work.
And though we know that prevention is better than cure, many people don’t take the preventative steps needed to protect their hearing.
Every year, Hearing Awareness Week (Sunday, March 3 to Saturday, March 9, 2019) and World Hearing Day (March 3, 2019) help raise our awareness of the importance of taking care of your ears and your hearing.
Why is hearing different from our other senses like eyesight?
No one likes to think about the downsides of ageing.
After 40 years of age, many of us find our eyesight starts getting worse. We need to make an effort to do strengthening and cardiovascular exercise to keep our body healthy.
We tend to think of hearing loss as a normal part of ageing. It could even be considered a badge of honour – all those rock concerts we attended in our youth!
But unlike eyesight, many people avoid taking action to save their hearing. They put off having a hearing test, even if they struggle to hear in many situations.
Is hearing loss catching up with you?
Hearing loss tends to creep up on all of us. By the time we’re 65 years old, around one in three people in Australia will suffer from some sort of hearing loss.
Often other people accommodate a person’s hearing difficulties.
They speak more loudly and repeat themselves often. This means that the person with the hearing loss doesn’t recognise they have a problem.
The dangers of hearing loss to our health
Hearing loss is not just an ‘ear’ problem. It can lead to other, more serious health conditions. These include dementia and heart problems.
People with hearing loss often avoid social situations. This can make them socially disconnected, causing depression and anxiety.
It can even lead to an increase in falls. People concentrating on their hearing can pay less attention and lose their balance.
Hearing aids make a real difference
Unfortunately, hearing loss is irreversible. Once the damage is done, there’s no regaining the hearing you once had.
Though they can never get your hearing back, hearing aids can make a real difference.
But only about one in four people who have a hearing loss seek help and get fitted with hearing aids.
And, many of them don’t wear their hearing devices, keeping them in their drawer ‘gathering dust’.
Having realistic expectations is important
Often, it comes down to having unrealistic expectations. Unfortunately, improving your hearing isn’t as straightforward as putting on glasses to improve your eyesight.
Traditionally, the main job of hearing aids is to amplify sounds. But distinguishing sounds is the real problem for many people with hearing loss.
Many of the latest hearing devices help dampen background noise to improve hearing.
The bottom line – act now to save your hearing
The key steps to healthy hearing are:
PROTECT your hearing.
Do what you can to prevent unnecessary hearing loss. Protect your hearing if you work in a noisy environment. Avoid turning up the volume too loud on your earphones or air pods.
Have a REGULAR HEARING TEST
Just like other aspects of your health, it’s good to check in with a health professional every year or so.
Consider HEARING AIDS
Hearing
aids have come a long way. These days they’re small, well-designed and
discreet. They’re easy to use and some are even rechargeable.
This Hearing Awareness Week, get in touch for a hearing test.
If you have any questions about your hearing, please give us a call on 1300 017 732 to make an appointment.
As an independent, family-owned hearing care clinic, you’ll also find we like to look after our clients and offer affordable and competitive prices on all of our hearing solutions.