What do you know about hearing loss in the US?
What do you picture in your mind when you hear the term “hearing aid?” Do you picture a sleek, technologically advanced near-supercomputer, or do you picture a bulky, oddly colored and shaped device that the wearer always seems to be frustrated with?
If you’re in the latter camp, you’re not alone. According to the National Institute on Hearing and Other Communication Disorders, a whopping 15% of American adults over the age of 18 report some level of hearing loss. That’s nearly forty million people — a huge number!
And do you know how many adults in the United States actually wear hearing aids? Well, according to the CDC, only about 7% of adults over the age of 45 actually wear a hearing aid to help them with listening and communication.
This means that there are millions of people across the United States who are facing the challenges of treatable hearing loss, but aren’t seeking out or embracing the recommendations and care that they deserve.
Why would that be? Well, as hearing care and audiology professionals with decades-long careers, we feel comfortable in telling you that there are a few reasons we hear over and over again.
Why do people avoid hearing care?
One of them is the stigma associated with hearing aids. People often will associate the value or effectiveness of hearing technology with whatever their closest experience with hearing aids might be. Typically, that’s an association with their grandparents or older relatives who wore conspicuous, unreliable analog technology, thus making their perception of hearing aids a negative one.
Another reason is a stigma associated with aging, and the connection people make between hearing loss and old age. While it’s true that hearing loss is a natural part of the aging process, there are two myths here that we want to dispel:
The first is that aging is bad. Aging is an unavoidable, inevitable factor of life, and instead of fighting against aging, we believe that aging is something we should appreciate and celebrate.
The second is that wearing hearing aids is a sign that you’ve somehow “given up” and have “given in” to “being old.”
The third is that hearing loss, if you’re not getting your hearing evaluated on an annual basis, can sneak up on you. It’s often a progressive condition, meaning that you’ll slowly lose your ability to hear certain frequencies at specific volumes. That’s why regular checkups with an audiologist are so important.
Today’s hearing aids are incredible, life-enhancing technology!
Listen, the reality is, so many of the people we work with who embrace the beauty of aging, seek out care, and wear their hearing aids as recommended are living full, happy, and active lives.
Their ability to hear, listen, understand, and participate in activities is vastly different from their pre-hearing aid lives.
It doesn’t matter what your age is, if you aren’t aware of your health, then you can’t do what’s possible to take control of your care so you can live the most fulfilling life you can.
That’s what’s beautiful about today’s digital hearing technology. It’s more comfortable, effective, and adaptable than ever before!
Today’s digital hearing aids are more comfortable than ever before!
It’s true! No matter what style and power hearing aid is best for your unique hearing loss, there are options that are more comfortable, discrete, and easy to wear than ever.
Behind-the-ear and Receiver-in-the-ear styles are the most commonly worn hearing aids, and their domes — the bell shaped part of the hearing aid worn in the ear canal — are typically made of a soft, easy to clean silicone material that fits comfortably and inconspicuously in the ear.
Speaking of inconspicuous, the casing of these styles of hearing aids have been engineered to be as light, sleek, and comfy as possible. Most people won’t even know you’re wearing a hearing aid!
And for those looking for something even less conspicuous, we also have a range of Invisible- and Completely-in-the-canal styles of hearing aids that are custom-made to fit perfectly inside your ears’ unique anatomy.
Today’s hearing aids are more advanced than ever before!
Thanks to the giant leaps made in digital technology over the last 30 years, today’s hearing aids are recognizable compared to the analog devices of yesteryear.
Not only can today’s digital hearing aids be programmed in direct alignment with your personal hearing loss, supporting the sounds you want to hear in the situations where you need them most, but today’s hearing aids are also incredibly flexible.
What do we mean by flexible? Well, thanks to compatibility with both Apple and Android devices, you have the ability to fine tune your hearing aids via smartphone apps, and even use your device’s GPS to program specific sound settings based on your location.
Headed to a quiet coffee shop? You can save your sound preferences! Headed to a noisier environment, like a restaurant or a sporting event? You can save those, too!
Not only do you have those features available to you, but you can even stream phone calls, and phone, computer, tablet, and smart TV audio directly to your hearing aids through the Bluetooth capabilities that many new hearing aids possess.
These features are really just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much that the world of better hearing has to offer. Colorado Ear Care is here to help you embrace it. If you’re ready to learn more about your hearing health and your options for experiencing the best hearing possible, then call us today to book an appointment! We can’t wait to serve you.