Getting someone to hear the facts about hearing aids
A common scenario goes something like this: A woman accompanies her mother to the physician. She says: "Doctor, I think my mother is having a problem hearing." The mother asks: "What did you say?" The daughter replies a bit louder: "I told the doctor you're having some trouble hearing." The mother says: "I'm having some what?"
According to
James Sumerson, MD, chief of otolaryngology, Virtua West Jersey Hospitals: "Before you can convince someone to get a hearing aid, you often must convince the individual that there is a hearing loss. A good first step is to challenge the person to a hearing test in one an audiology lab such as ours. This demonstrates right then and there that a problem exists."
What causes hearing loss?
Not like wearing glasses
The different types of
hearing aids
What causes hearing loss?
Hearing loss can originate with an ear infection, a perforated eardrum or from something as innocuous as earwax, which can be corrected. It can be an inherited trait, or acquired because of workplace exposure where there is a great deal of noise.
"Determining the origin of a person's hearing loss is always the first step, " says
David Ansel, MD, chief of otolaryngology, Virtua Memorial Hospital. "After I pinpoint the cause and fit the patient for a hearing aid, the real work begins. How well an individual does with a hearing aid depends largely on the person's attitude toward wearing it."
Not like wearing glasses
The quality of sound produced by a hearing aid is different from that of the everyday world. A hearing aid amplifies the higher and lower registers of sound, creating instead a more mechanical sound. There is an adjustment period for the wearer. And it's recommended that anyone using a hearing aid for the first time stick with it for at least a month before deciding to stuff it in the back of a drawer.
The different types of hearing aids
Hearing aids come in many styles and shapes. Some are worn behind the ear, some right in it. There is a tiny hearing aid that fits down into the ear canal as well as a disposable hearing aid with a 40-day battery. Generally, the smaller the hearing aid the more expensive it is.
Don't strain to have a conversation or become isolated because of hearing loss, call a Virtua otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor), or family physician for advice.
Along with hearing tests, Virtua's Physical Rehabilitation Network offers hearing aids, aids that assist hearing like flashing lights for the telephone and smoke detectors, and expert counseling to preserve hearing.