by Jennifer Gehlen, Au.D. (NAPSA)—Oneoutof every six peo- ple lives with some degree of hearing loss, and the earlier you have your hearing evaluated and treated by a professional, the better your outcome. These facts and hints can help: WhatIs Hearing Loss? Experts have identified multiple potential causes of hearing loss, including aging, noise exposure, head or ear injuries, infections and chronic illnesses. If you experience any of these symptoms, have your hearing checked: Decreased attention Trouble communicating with others Irritability, stress, depression Withdrawal from sociallife Memoryloss Reluctance to try new things or visit unfamiliar places e Declining performance at work. Other signs include needing to raise the volume on audio sources (especially if others complain the sound is already turned up too high), thinking that people are always mumblingor talking too softly, and frequently asking others to repeat themselves. Addressing Hearing Loss Relieves Mental Exhaustion Whereverthere’s a high level of ambient noise, holding a conversation re- quires concentration and effort. If you have unaddressed hearingloss, it can be downright exhausting. You cannot keep up with multiple conversations going on around you without exerting significant effortto listen and understand. Trying to actively participate eventually leaves you so weary you mightstart to avoid socializing altogether. Rather than missing out, consider whathearing aids can do. Current models include technology that continuously monitors your listening environment and singles out the dominant speaker while reducing background noise. Some people find they can actually hear better than their companions with “normal” hearing in very loud surroundings. Enjoy The Great Outdoors Again Wind and other environmental sounds makeit difficult to understand whatothers are saying outside. Hearing aids today can help you hear every word clearly by singling out speech while suppressing interference. Some devices use motion sensors from an iPhone to ad- just their focus to a friend’s voice, while still helping you hear sounds vital to safety, such as an oncomingcar. No More Echo Sounds reflecting off hard surfaces : @ To enjoy the sounds of life for as long as possible, it’s important to recognize any indications of hearing loss and address them immediately. create reverberation—echoesthat can interfere with understanding speech. Automatic programscan all buteliminateirri- tating echoes, delivering cleaner, clearer and easier-to-understand speech. Enjoy Music Modern hearing aids are expertly configured to enable enjoyment of music to the fullest whether you're listening to a concert, home stereo system or even onstage yourself. Hearing aids with high-definition music programs can deliverthe ideal acoustic balance to yourears in eachsituation with quality and completeness. Telephonophobia Or Hearing Loss? In previous generations, hearing aid wearers didn’t like using phones because their devices would emit a high-pitched whine when next to a phone receiver. Plus, older devices often failed to pro- vide enough voiceclarity to significantly improve phoneconversations. Advances in wireless connectivity options have all but eliminated this. Now you can stream phonecalls directly into bothears, in stereo, using Bluetooth technology. The Choice Is Yours There’s no “onesizefits all” answer to hearing loss because every person is uniquely affected. Fortunately, a wide range of hearing aids is available that can be tailored to your individual degree of hearing loss, specific ear anatomy, and personallifestyle. Your first move upon acknowledging you might have hearing loss should be to contact a hearing care professional and arrange to have your hearing tested and formally diagnosed. Learn More For furtherfacts on preventing hear- ing loss, go to www.signiausa.com. Dr. Gehlen is an Educational Specialist at Signia. She provides training to customers and staff on company technology, products and software from face-toface meetings to virtual sessions.
