HEARING SOLUTIONS- The Impact of Treated Hearing Loss on Quality of Life
Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D. - Better Hearing Institute, Washington, DC
It would seem that hearing is a second-rate sense when compared to vision in our visually
oriented modern society. People with hearing loss delay a decision toget hearing help
because they are unaware of the fact that receiving early treatment for hearing loss
has the potential to literally transform their lives. Research by the National Council
on the Aging on more than 2,000 people with hearing loss as well as their significant
others demonstrated that hearing aids clearly are associated with impressive
improvements in the social, emotional, psychological, and physical well-being of people
with hearing loss in all hearing loss categories from mild to severe. Specifically,
hearing aid usage is positively related to the following quality of life issues.
Hearing loss treatment was shown to improve:
- Earning power
- Communication in relationships
- Intimacy and warmth in family relationships
- Ease in communication
- Emotional stability
- Sense of control over life events
- Perception of mental functioning
- Physical health
- Group social participation
![Family Dinner Family Dinner](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090508191500im_/http://www.betterhearing.org/images/guide/3.jpg)
And just as importantly hearing loss treatment was shown to reduce:
- Discrimination toward the person with the hearing loss
- Hearing loss compensation behaviors (i.e. pretending you hear)
- Anger and frustration in relationships
- Depression and depressive symptoms
- Feelings of paranoia
- Anxiety
- Social phobias
- Self-criticism
If you are one of those people with a mild, moderate or severe hearing loss, who is sitting on the fence, consider all the benefits of hearing aids described above. Hearing aids hold such great potential to positively change so many lives.
You Should Hear What You Are Missing!
Detailed Discussion on The Impact of Treated Hearing Loss on Quality of Life
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