Hearing Loss

with Karen Goetz, audiologist, Advanced Healthcare.

Last Updated: July 1, 2003

According to statistics from the American Association of Retired Persons, hearing impairment is more common in seniors than heart disease. It affects 32% of all seniors and rises to 39% in those over 75.

Karen Goetz, audiologist, Advanced Healthcare. "I try to explain to seniors that doing something about their hearing is doing something about their health."

Hearing loss and health
Many seniors resist getting hearing aids. However, hearing loss creates a number of health-related problems caused by the negative social effects of a breakdown in communication with friends and family.

Seniors suffering from hearing loss are no longer able to participate in conversation as they once were. They may need to ask people to repeat words or sentences. They may misinterpret meaning of words. As a result, they may withdraw socially by avoiding gatherings where they have difficulty hearing.

"This type of withdrawal can lead to higher rates of depression and anxiety, feelings of isolation or even paranoia. Studies have shown higher rates of physical health problems for hearing-impaired seniors, including heart disease and other problems," said Karen Goetz, an audiologist with Advanced Healthcare.

Today’s treatments
Those experiencing a hearing loss should discuss the problem with their primary care physicians. Usually, patients will then be referred to an audiologist who will assess the degree and type of hearing loss. This will include tests of hearing loss at different frequencies and ability to understand speech under a variety of conditions, such as when background noise is present.

"An important part of this process also includes sitting down and talking with a patient and getting a feel for how the hearing loss is affecting day-to-day life," Goetz said.

The evaluation will allow an audiologist to understand the type of hearing aid needed as well as the style.

There are two types of hearing aids, "analogs" which are basic amplifiers, and digital which have the ability to amplify soft sounds more than loud ones, thus promoting clearer perception of the differences in speech.

Among styles, there are in the ear, over the ear, deep in the ear canal, as well as others. "It’s important to choose a style a patient is comfortable wearing because they will need to wear the aids every single day," the audiologist said.

An individual's attitude about their hearing aids is critical to success. For example, it is crucial that a person be committed to wearing their hearing aids daily. Since hearing loss usually occurs very slowly and gradually over time, the auditory system has had ample opportunity to become "used to" the way speech and environmental sounds are perceived with the hearing loss.

Once a person begins wearing hearing aids, full volume and tone of those sounds is restored in an instant. It takes time for the brain to "re-learn" how to interpret those everyday sounds again. This "re-learning" process only takes place with regular and consistent hearing aid exposure.

Hearing loss is a gradual process caused by a number of factors. Heredity has a strong influence in that hearing loss tends to run in families. But most damaging is accumulative noise exposure over the course of one’s life.

"It’s similar to exercising a muscle that hasn’t been used in awhile – at first it may seem strange and unfamiliar. But with repeated use, it becomes second nature again. So with daily hearing aid use, common environmental sounds that may at first sound strange and intrusive will fade into the background where they belong," Goetz explained.

She stressed that wearing hearing aids must be a patient’s decision and that families cannot force seniors to get help. "What they can do is express concern about their loved one’s inability to hear, how they don’t seem to enjoy family get-togethers and how if they heard better they could be part of activities again," the audiologist explained.

Hearing loss is a gradual process caused by a number of factors. Heredity has a strong influence in that hearing loss tends to run in families. But most damaging is accumulative noise exposure over the course of one’s life.

"We live in a noisy, industrialized society. That’s one of the reasons that hearing loss is showing up earlier and earlier in life. It isn’t fair to say it’s just a seniors’ problem anymore," said Goetz.

Certain medications that may be taken by an individual at some point in their lifetime can be ototoxic, which means they may contribute to hearing loss. These are usually strong antibiotics like aminoglycosides that are necessary in treatment of severe infections. More commonly used medicines like diuretics and high dosages of aspirin may affect hearing on a temporary basis. Environmental substances, such as tobacco smoke and pollutants, can also have an ototoxic effect.

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