About Hearing Loss
Our hearing is a precious and vital sense
When everything works as it should, our sense of hearing has the power to inform, entertain and connect us with family and friends. Hearing well enables to us to live happy healthy lives. Hearing health is directly connected to overall health and well-being. That’s been proven, and it means that people who are able to hear can engage with the world around them and live better and healthier lives.
Studies show untreated hearing loss can impair the ability to socialise with family and friends, it can affect performance in the workplace and lead to loneliness and fatigue. It can also have an impact on your overall health and wellbeing.
As we grow older, many people begin to experience hearing loss. This is a natural part of the ageing process and develops gradually over time. As we continue to live longer, coupled with growing exposure to loud noise from modern lifestyles, hearing impairment is increasingly common at an earlier age.
Even a slight hearing loss can have a negative impact on our ability to work, socialise and enjoy life.
How hearing loss can impact your life
If you think hearing loss is inconsequential, you should know that studies have linked untreated hearing loss to significant issues such as:
Diminished psychological and overall health
Impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks
Reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety
Avoidance or withdrawal from social situations
Experiencing social rejection and loneliness
Fatigue, tension, stress and depression
Feelings of irritability, negativism and anger
Reduced job performance and earning power
Signs of hearing loss
- You can hear, but you can’t understand. Among the first sounds that “disappear” are high-pitched sounds like women’s and children’s voices. Also, you mistake similar high-pitched sounds, such as “fifty” and “sixty.”
- You find yourself complaining that some people mumble or slur their words.
- You have difficulty understanding what’s being said unless you are facing the speaker.
- You are continually asking certain people to repeat words or phrases, though they feel they are speaking loud enough.
- You prefer the TV or radio louder than others do.
- You have difficulty understanding conversation within a group of people.
- You avoid group meetings, social occasions, public facilities or family gatherings where listening may be difficult.
- You have trouble hearing at the movies, concert halls, houses of worship or other public gatherings — especially where sound sources are at a distance from the listener.
- You experience ringing, hissing, buzzing, whistling, roaring or even chirping noises in your ears.
