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Whether your intention is to enjoy your grandchildren more or hear better at meetings, there are options for coping with age-related changes to your hearing ability.
What does it mean to "live well with hearing loss?" That is the question that the Ida Institute an international gathering of researchers, audiologists, psychologists, social workers,physicians, and consumers recently pondered in Denmark. This diverse group participated in seminars, interactive learning, anthropological ethnographic studies, and worldwide cooperative learning in order to better understand the journey of people with hearing loss.
Research has shown that hearing loss can impact relationships at home, at work, and in social situations. When it reaches the point where a person acknowledges problems in these environments,it means that the hearing loss is not only affecting the person with the loss but also the people they interact with on a regular basis. It is at this point that most people seek out help.
The availability of medical and technological options today allows for many choices to improve communication.While some individuals have hearing loss as a result of medical conditions and require surgical or medical intervention, most older adults find themselves with hearing loss simply as a result of aging. This type of loss is referred to as presbycusis.
Presbycusis typically begins as a slight loss of hearing in the range of higher pitches. The loss progresses through the decades with most people adjusting to the changes as they occur.Efforts are being made to fit people with hearing aids in the early stages to allow for easier adjustment and acceptance of the devices. Manufacturers have developed sleek, cosmetically attractive instruments to appeal to young seniors with options such as Blue tooth compatibility, the ability to program for multiple hearing environments, vibrant stylish colors and shapes, and automatic signal processing.
Hearing aids come in a variety of sizes and styles. Obtaining the right instruments is important and the decision should be made with the help of your hearing health care professional.Understanding communication needs is vital to successful hearing aid use.Knowing the patient's social networks and communication challenges can help determine which features are necessary and worth paying for.
For example, if a person with a hearing loss is socially active with a large network of friends and colleagues,and participates in multiple activities on a regular basis, he may require instruments with numerous programmable features. In contrast, a person who has a smaller circle of friends and limited activities may be helped by a more basic amplification system. The ultimate goal of hearing aids is to allow a person to function successfully in the listening conditions that make up their social network.
Living well with hearing loss is a personal value and cannot be generically defined. Everyone has their own definition. For some it may mean being able to have a conversation with grandchildren, while for others it may mean hearing well in theaters, at lectures,and during office meetings. Each individual's needs are personal and the solution to their difficulties can vary significantly. Obtaining a hearing aid is one step and sufficient for some people; the next step for others is programming per individual communication needs.
Hearing aids alone may not meet all of the challenges that hearing loss presents. Some people may need to consider other options. The use of hearing assistive technologies, with or without hearing aids, can open the door for many. An amplified telephone or the addition of a simple telephone T-coil on a hearing aid may enhance phone communication. The use of a service such as CapTel, which provides captions for phone conversations, can facilitate conversation with family and friends when a person's hearing is too impaired to hear well on the phone.
Other devices such as infrared and FM systems can enhance the hearing of the television, movies and plays,meetings, lectures, or religious services, allowing the person with hearing loss to continue to enjoy environments and experiences that are important to her.
Many people seek advice and comfort from others with the same problems. There are many wonderful organizations that provide support and information for millions of people with hearing loss. The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Hearing Loss Association of America are just two national consumer organizations with local chapters. Meetings, organized chat rooms, local chapters, and conventions all provide information, support, and advocacy for issues relevant to people with hearing loss. (For more on support groups, see"Help Yourself Support Groups Put Hearing Loss into Perspective" in Hearing Health's Spring 2009 issue, at www.drf.org/magazine.)
Although technology can often provide significant benefits for people with hearing loss, hearing rehabilitation treatment is available for those who may want to maximize their communication through speech reading and listening skills. Some individuals partake in group or individual training programs to learn to enhance their communication abilities. These services may not always be readily available,but there are a variety of computer-based, at-home training programs that can be useful. Some are designed to help improve understanding in adverse listening conditions, while others focus on the visual characteristics of speech for lipreading training. For further information about these programs, contact your hearing health care professional.
While researchers and hearing health care professionals seek the treatments and technologies to help people with hearing loss, people every day are finding ways to adjust, cope, and improve the quality of their lives in the presence of hearing loss. Remember that it is up to the individual to determine what it means to "live well with hearing loss," and then to take the steps that are necessary to reach their goals.
Joseph Montano, Ed.D.,is an Associate Professor of Audiology in Clinical Otolaryngology and Director of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology at Weill Cornell Medical College,New York Presbyterian Hospital, in New York City. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Ida Institute (www.idainstitute.com), whose mission is to foster better understanding of the human dynamics associated with hearing loss, and on the Board of Trustees of the Hearing Loss Association of America(www.hearingloss.org).
Living well with hearing loss is a personal value and cannot be generically defined. The solution to hearing-loss difficulties can vary significantly.
