Hearing News You Can Use

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New Study Proves Link Between Hearing Loss and Income Loss

A new study, released by the Better Hearing Institute in Alexandria, Va., proves that untreated hearing loss may impact household income by as much as $12,000 per year.

Further, the study shows that hearing loss, which affects 31 million Americans, almost two thirds of whom are still in the work force, may result in an annual loss to the country of more than $100 billion in wages and worker productivity.

The good news is people who take action and find the right kind of help for their hearing loss, can save themselves a significant amount – up to 50 percent - of that lost income.

According to Steve Barlow, President of Vocal Labs, “One of the misconceptions about hearing loss is that it’s ‘an old person’s ailment’. But we know that hearing loss crosses all income and ethnic lines, and impacts people of all ages as well.

“With the recent breakthroughs in digital technology, along with our ability to design hearing aids so small they’re almost undetectable, working people should feel very comfortable with the idea of wearing hearing aids, especially when it’s been proven they can earn more money and improve their family’s overall quality of life,” Barlow went on to say.

According to another survey by the BHI, only 37 percent of those with hearing loss are at retirement age, leaving the majority still in the work force. But only 23 percent of all those with hearing loss currently wear hearing aids, even though they are the recommended treatment for an estimated 95 percent of people with hearing loss.

As research into the causes and treatment of hearing loss continue to shed new light on what is the nation’s and the world’s third most common medical problem, more has also become known about the range of negative impact it has on human life.

Worker productivity, social skills, self-esteem, physical and emotional health and relationships with family, friends and co-workers are among the important areas negatively impacted when hearing loss is left untreated. All of these are known to significantly improve with the use of hearing aids.

“One of the things I love about this job is getting to listen to our patients after they’ve been fitted with new hearing aids,” Barlow added. “They tell us stories about how much happier and more productive they feel because they decided to take action.”

Local Hearing Care Center Offers Answer to Recreational Noise Problem

Have you ever found yourself thinking the world you live in is a lot noisier than it used to be?

Well, you’re right.

The potential dangers of what’s commonly referred to as “Recreational Noise” have never been greater, according to Steve Barlow, President of Vocal Labs.

“Years ago, most people who came to see us experienced hearing loss because of their work environment or military service, or had occupations where long-term exposure to noise was a problem,” Barlow says.

“But these days, it seems noise is all around us. And with all the additional exposure to noise in every day circumstances, so many people are running the risk of permanent hearing loss unless they find the right kind of help,” Barlow adds.

Some recent surveys have backed up this contention, proving that just about everywhere you go, someone has turned the noise levels up a notch.

Take restaurants, for example. Some newspapers have started publishing their own “Restaurant Noise Ratings” system, as part of regular restaurant reviews. Noise levels at some restaurants commonly exceeded 80 decibels. Normal conversation, in contrast, is usually around 55 to 60 dB.

It’s not just restaurants that can test our thresholds for noise. Movies have been found to include sound levels up to 118 dB. This is more than enough to cause tinnitus, a condition that describes constant ringing in the ears, or even permanent hearing loss.

Barlow noted that the problem of recreational noise doesn’t just affect those over 65 years of age, either, people who have been traditionally thought of as the typical candidate for hearing loss.

“One in every five hearing losses diagnosed each year is found in people under the age of 21 -- the “iPod” generation,” he says. This may be one more reason, perhaps, to give a child or a grandchild the gift of a book, instead of music, next time, Barlow suggests.

Hearing Loss & the Family Body

For years, both researchers and hearing healthcare professionals have known much about the causes of hearing loss and how it affects the person who suffers from it.

But not until recently has attention been paid as to the devastating effects hearing loss has on family members and friends as well. This past year alone, several organizations have weighed in with their findings on this often overlooked medical problem that by current estimates, affects the lives and families of more than 28 million Americans.

For example, the National Council on Aging (NCOA), a government agency whose task it is to research the lives of older Americans, released a study that confirms how often a person with hearing loss begins to feel isolated, eventually withdrawing from normal everyday activities and even from family and friends.

Steve Barlow, President of Vocal Labs, offered his own personal testimony on how hearing loss affects families: “I began to realize just how much hearing loss also affected family members when we'd spend so much time counseling them when we'd fit their loved one with hearing instruments," he said.

“Although hearing loss is basically a physical problem, it has so much bearing on a person's emotional and psychological outlook as well.”

The benefits of better hearing were the subject of an NBC report that aired on an installment of the Nightly News. In that report, the testimonials of several patients and their families provided evidence of how lives can be changed for the good, once the decision has been made to seek help for a hearing problem.

Those interviewed talked about how experiences such as watching TV or enjoying conversations with loved ones - things that were not possible with hearing loss - were once again part of the everyday enjoyment of life.

Social activities like dining at restaurants of going to the movies were also among the range of family life experienced through better hearing.

“Watching that news report and listening to the family members, especially, helped me understand just how important the gift of hearing is for everyone involved,” Barlow went on to say, “and how much of life is missed when there is a hearing problem.”

Thanks to recent advances in technology more help is available than ever before for those whose lives are affected by hearing loss. If left untreated, hearing loss will almost always become worse over time, another reason Barlow urges people to seek qualified help if a hearing loss is thought to exist.