Why is hearing health always put off until later?
Why is hearing health always put off until later?
I’ve been in the business for a while and I still can’t believe it! Why wait so long? Hearing loss brings with it very real difficulties: isolation, frustration, professional difficulties, exhaustion, friction with family and friends, depression, cognitive changes, and so on. It’s a pretty big deal!
What’s more, research has long since shown that delay in dealing with hearing loss only makes the situation worse. The ear risks losing its ability to understand words, and hearing rehabilitation becomes increasingly difficult.
In this blog, I’ll try to explain what hearing loss is, and how it can be successfully treated with hearing aids and other technical aids. I’ll also keep you up to date with what’s new in the world of hearing.
But first I’d like to take a moment to list some of the most common factors that may explain why people take so long to get to grips with their hearing difficulties.
Hearing loss: understanding the obstacles to better action
The person simply doesn't know they have a problem
Becauseof the slow, gradual nature of deafness, some people don’t realize they have a problem. They just adapt as best they can. “Mom, I’d like you to get your hearing checked, I think you’ve been having trouble hearing lately.” When the problem is brought to the person gently and tactfully, there’s a good chance they’ll be receptive and willing to consult a hearing care professional.
Denial
Sometimes people realize – up to a point – that they have difficulty hearing, but refuse to admit it. They can then become emotional, even aggressive, when the subject is broached. Their response often goes something like this: “I can hear just fine, you’re the one who’s mumbling.” Or, on the subject of television: “It’s the sound that’s bad, the presenters don’t know how to talk anymore. They play the music too loud. As you may have guessed, these people are harder to get to our offices. To reach them, we sometimes have to “go through the tape” and identify the person best placed to convince them to have their hearing checked. This may be the spouse, but also a grandchild, a close friend, a nurse, a priest, and so on. Every situation is unique.
Another type of denial we often encounter concerns people who are well aware of their hearing difficulties, but don’t realize the impact this can have on their loved ones. They say, for example, “I can’t hear very well, but it’s not serious, I’m used to it and my wife speaks louder, so everything’s fine.” In such cases, the person needs to be gently made aware that hearing loss is a problem that needs to be tackled right away, and that it can really inconvenience those around them. For example, “It would be much nicer for everyone, Dad, if we didn’t have to keep repeating when we talk to you.”
Something else to take care of at the moment
A person who says they want to take care of other, higher-priority things in their life may not realize just how much hearing loss can contribute to complicating matters. For example, a person who has to deal with a serious illness will have difficulty keeping up with his or her treatments if he or she can’t hear his or her doctor’s and pharmacist’s recommendations. They may also miss appointments, travel for nothing, and so on.
While it’s perfectly conceivable that we may have to deal with certain urgent situations, we mustn’t minimize the negative impact that untreated hearing loss can have on many aspects of daily life. Not to mention the fact that these other, more pressing occupations can become a mere excuse for some people not to deal with their hearing problem.
Lack of motivation
It’s hard to help someone who doesn’t want to hear.
This situation is common among people who live alone or are lonely by nature, and who have suffered from untreated hearing loss for many years. They have unconsciously withdrawn into themselves and don’t feel the need to hear better.
The best approach is to gently explain that the situation is difficult for those around you, and that it would be much simpler if the person would agree to seek help for their hearing problems.
A little boy’s or girl’s comment to his or her grandmother: “Grandma, I wish I could talk to you and you could hear me” can help convey the sadness of the situation.
These people will need help to get used to hearing the sound world around them again. Patience will be required.
Apprehension
Many people delay consulting us because they have heard negative comments from people who have not had a good experience either with hearing aids or with certain professionals.
In all honesty, and you can ask any audioprosthetist, cases of real failure are much less frequent than you might imagine. Provided the person shows good will, it is extremely rare for the hearing loss not to be corrected satisfactorily.
I’ll have the opportunity to deal specifically with this aspect in a future blog, where I’ll discuss the factors that predispose to failure when hearing aids are fitted.
So the apprehension is unfounded, and just because Aunt Marie had difficulty adapting to her hearing aids, doesn’t mean it will be the same with Uncle Marcel.
The cost
For some people, the cost of hearing aids can be a barrier to their purchase. However, it should be remembered that the Régie de l’Assurance Maladie du Québec provides one or more hearing aids free of charge to anyone who meets its criteria. Other organizations that can help provide hearing aids include the Commission de la Santé et Sécurité au Travail (CSST), Indian Affairs (NIHB), Veterans Affairs Canada and many others.
What’s more, you can pay your bill in instalments at most hearing aid specialists.
Towards more effective and satisfying hearing aids
To conclude this first post, I’d like to say that, like any treatment requiring a certain amount of effort on the part of the patient, the use of hearing aids receives its share of criticism. Nevertheless, as an audioprosthetist, over the years I have witnessed a steady improvement in hearing aid techniques, as well as a maturing of the digital technologies used in the development of modern hearing aids. For us hearing care professionals, and above all for our patients, this means a much more satisfying hearing aid.