Myth Exposed: Hearing loss is only due to advancing age.
Loud noise exposure is a top cause of hearing loss. An estimated 12.5% of children and adolescents aged 6–19 years and 17% of adults aged 20–69 years have suffered permanent hearing damage from excessive noise exposure.1 Hereditary factors and health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other circulatory problems also cause hearing loss, along with certain medications like aspirin, some antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs.
Myth Exposed: Only people with serious hearing loss need hearing devices.
The need for hearing amplification depends on your lifestyle, degree of hearing loss and desire for a more sophisticated level of hearing. If you are a teacher or a lawyer, refined hearing is necessary to understand communication nuances. Therefore, you may not be able to tolerate even a mild level of hearing loss. On the other hand, if you live alone or seldom socialize, your tolerance level for moderate hearing loss may be higher.
Myth Exposed: My family doctor would have told me if I had hearing loss.
Incorrect. Evidence shows that only 20% of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss during a physical.2
Myth Exposed: Hearing devices will make me look “older.”
It is not the hearing devices that make you look older; being unable to hear, understand and communicate with others makes you look older.
Myth Exposed: Hearing devices aren’t worth the expense.
Research has found that 87% of hearing device users believe the quality of their life has improved with hearing devices.3 Overall satisfaction with one-year-old hearing devices is now 86%.3
Talk to our team at Indiana Hearing Specialists today to schedule a hearing screening—(317) 671-8000. We offer thorough audiological testing and counseling for total patient satisfaction.
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Preventing Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hearingloss/noise.html#:~:text=
2 Bettger, J., Dolor, R., Witsell, D., Dubno, J., Pieper, C., et al. (2020, May 11). Comparative implementation-effectiveness of three strategies to perform hearing screening among older adults in primary care clinics: Study Design and Protocol. BMC Geriatr. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7216720/#:~:text
3 Picou, Erin M. (2020 February). MarkeTrak 10 (MT10) Survey Results Demonstrate High Satisfaction with and Benefits from Hearing Aids. Seminars in Hearing. https://europepmc.org/article/med/32047346