2 – Recognizing Hearing Loss
Most people who have hearing loss don’t recognize it, admit to having it or take steps to deal with it. Of the estimated 34.25 million people who have hearing loss in the United States,
- Less than 1 in 10 with mild hearing loss use amplification.
- Less than 4 in 10 with moderate to severe hearing loss use amplification.
Why Do They Not Take Action?
Effective action includes having a hearing evaluation, acquiring a hearing aid if necessary, and wearing the hearing aid as the three first basic steps. Some of the major reasons why people fail to take these steps is because they
- Don’t believe they have a hearing loss
- Don’t believe the hearing loss is a problem, i.e., don’t relate their problems to the hearing loss
- Don’t know what to do to begin to deal with it
- Don’t believe hearing aids will help
- Don’t want to be seen wearing hearing aids
- Don’t have the necessary resources, e. g., money, transport
- Don’t know where to go to start getting help
- Are deriving some benefit from the status quo
- Too emotionally upset to take action
- Buy into the negative, cultural stereotype concerning hearing loss
People may not self-identify as having hearing loss because they
- Are unaware that they have hearing loss
- Do not want to admit they have a hearing loss
- Do not deem their hearing loss to be important
- Do not believe there is anything that can be done to improve their hearing ability
They may not know they have a hearing loss because
- Many people lose their hearing gradually over a long period of time and adjust to each new level of loss, so each change doesn’t seem different to them.
- They may hear and understand very well in some situations which are quiet, one-on-one, and distraction free.
- When they do not understand what is said in other situations, they blame the person speaking for mumbling or speaking too softly, rather than thinking it may be due to their hearing.
They may not see their hearing loss as important because
- They do not know what they are missing and assume that they are hearing everything just fine.
- They do not relate the problems in their life - fatigue, depression, anxiety, anger, interpersonal difficulties – to their hearing loss.
They may not want to self-identify because
- Many people consider hearing loss as something to be ashamed about due to negative cultural stigma and do not want to be seen as being damaged, or being seen as less than competent or being seen as being old and infirmed.
- They have seen friends or relatives rejected in some way by other people due to communication difficulties.
People do not believe there is anything they can do about their hearing loss because
- Thedifficulty of accepting the fact that one might have a hearing loss leads to failure to find out what is available for accommodating it.
- The person simply does not know where to go to get help in dealing with it.
- The person does not have the money to purchase hearing aids or other equipment or does not have the transportation necessary for traveling to an audiologist for assessment, etc.