by Jennifer Gehlen, Au.D. (NAPSA)—A recent study found that only 16 percent of adults between the ages of 20 and 69 who would benefit from hearing aids have ever worn them. However, the longer you delay treatment, the more hearing loss can affect you. If you've been putting off getting your hearing checked, here are five reasons to take action today. 1) Hearing loss drives your family crazy. If your family asks you to turn down the TV, gets frustrated when you keep saying “what?”, and tells you you're speaking too loudly, you may have hearing loss. Left untreated, those annoying tendencies can continue to drive a wedge between you and yourloved ones. 2) Poor hearing harmsyourcareer. At work, you might miss directives, important details on a phonecall, or nod along during a conversation and unintentionally agree to take on a big project yourself. The inability to hear properly can cause you to be overlooked for raises and promotions, threaten your job security, and limit your earning potential. 3) Hearing loss may put your phys- ical health atrisk. If you struggle to hear, you mightnot notice a car coming while you're crossing the street or an ambulanceorfiretruck approaching from behind. Hearing loss can also affect your balance and increase yourrisk offalling threefold. 4) Hearing difficulty jeopardizes Millions of Americans have hearing loss. It’s a good idea to get your hearing checked. exacerbate conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Even just being unable to hear the sounds you used to can causegrief and depression. 5) Hearing struggles damage your quality oflife. From the conversations and loss of sounds you used to enjoy to the social, physical and emotional aspects of not hearingwell, all of these effects combine to diminish your quality oflife and prevent you from livinglife to the fullest. However, by getting your hearing tested andtreated, you'll enjoy hearing what you've been missing out on over the years and even wonder why you waited so long to address your hearing problems. Jennifer Gehlen, Au.D. is an Edu- cational Specialist for Sivantos, Inc., the your mentalhealth. manufacturer of Signia hearing aids. She provides training to customers and staff on company technology, products and software from face-to-face meetings to virtual sessions. She holds an Au.D. from the University of Florida. cially withdrawn, which can lead to or For further facts on hearing loss and hearing aids, go to www.signiausa.com. ‘The inability to hear properly can make people frustrated, angry and so- Learn More
