Hard of hearing hearing aids must be worn

Collaboration of the patient significantly responsible for success

09/11/2014

More than one in three people suffers from hearing loss at the age of 60. At the age of 70, more than one in two is affected. But many young people also have hearing problems. Stress and prolonged exposure to noise, for example, through loudly tuned music in iPod & Co. are considered to be favorable factors for deafness. Overall, environmental noise in the environment has increased dramatically in the last 20 years. One problem with the treatment is that patients often ignore the disease. This is indicated by the medical network HNOnet NRW.

„We specialists often face the problem that, although we have recognized the problem, patients do not accept help“, affirms Walter, CEO of HNOnet-NRW. Sometimes sufferers simply ignore the condition because they do not want to admit to hearing loss and think they are still listening well. In other cases, patients also do not realize that they are hard of hearing. For just at the beginning they still hear well in the low frequency range and only perceive higher frequencies. Also, the brain is able to compensate for beginning hearing loss over a long period of time. Many therefore only feel the loss of hearing when it is almost too late and the listener has forgotten how to hear it. Regular check-ups from the age of 50 are therefore important. In most cases, friends and relatives also point out those affected by hearing loss. Paying attention to these hints is an important piece of advice.

„However, ignoring the disease tends to result in a further loss of hearing ability“, explains Dr. Walter. Background: If nerve structures are no longer impulses, they atrophy. Later, they are no longer able to properly process the sounds transmitted by the hearing aid. Hearing aids are the most important aid in hearing loss and can be prescribed by the ENT specialist at the expense of the health insurance companies. They are also almost invisible today, so that cosmetic concerns are unnecessary. (Pm)