In an earlier blog I stated that there is no hearing loss epidemic in America. If you have been following the media over the last five years you have heard dire predictions about listening to loud music and the dangers of iPods. Well the 20 year longitudinal study at Beaver Dam WI indicates that members of the rock 'n' roll generation are aging with much better hearing than their parents had at the same age.
We have seen much press about a hearing loss epidemic primarily due to recreational noise such as the use of iPods. We have been tracking the hearing loss population now since 1989 and in our latest survey to 80,000 households found that the incidence of hearing loss increased from 10% in 1989 to 11.3% in 2008. The prevalence of hearing loss per thousand households increased from 266 per thousand households to 295 per thousand households. The increase in hearing loss appears to be due to the aging of America. The data hardly provide evidence that there is an epidemic.
For further information see our 25 year trend report on the hearing loss population.
I wanted to take a moment to talk about those people who are wondering if they should pursue hearing aids or not. It is true that the affects of sharply sloping high frequency hearing impairment are so subtle it is hard to determine whether hearing aids will be benecial. However, if you find yourself in an audiologists office talking about hearing aids I don't think a hearing test can determine how good a candidate you are for hearing aids. I am not talking about the obvious seperation between those who have normal hearing who don't need help from those who have moderate hearing impairment who definetly need help. Who I am talking about are those who suffer from sharply sloping high frequency hearing impairment with areas of normal hearing. I feel there is a huge risk in looking at a audiogram and saying you are a borderline candidate and you don't need hearing aids. That is not to say every person with any hearing loss will definetly benefit from hearing aids. The point is that two people with the same hearing loss can have dramitically different experiences with hearing aids. One person might find them an to be an indespensible part of thier life and the next might not even be able to tell any change at all. In those grey areas there is no way to determine which side of that spectrum you will land without experiencing them first hand. If you don't try you will never know what could be. If you try and there is no improvement the peice of mind gained through the expereince is more than worth the time and trial fee spent to answer those questions, that drove you to the audiologist office in the first place.
