Tuning In: Signs, Types, and Prevention of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a critical health concern that affects millions of people worldwide. At Advanced Audiology, we believe that educating people about the signs, types, and prevention of hearing loss is crucial to improving their quality of life. We can assist with noise-induced, pediatric, tinnitus, and other types of hearing impairments.

 

The Facts on Hearing Loss:

  • 1 in 3 people between the ages of 65 and 74 are impacted.[1]
  • Nearly 50% of adults 75 and older have difficulty hearing. [1]
  • 1 in 8 people in the United States aged 12 years or older experience hearing loss in both ears. [3]
  • 5% of adults aged 55 to 64 have disabling hearing loss. [4]
  • Nearly 25% of adults aged 65 to 74 have disabling hearing loss. [4]
  • It is estimated that 3 in 1,000 infants are born with a detectable level of hearing loss. [2]
  • Over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.[5]

 

The Effects of Loud-Sound Exposure on Hearing

One of the leading causes of hearing loss is excessive noise exposure. If you cannot carry on a conversation in the presence of loud noise, it is too loud for your ears and can potentially cause hearing loss.

Shockingly, 1 in 4 workers exposed to high levels of noise will develop a hearing impairment. Professions at risk include firefighters, police officers, factory workers, farmers, construction workers, military personnel, heavy industry workers, musicians, and entertainment industry professionals.

If you work in a loud sound level environment, we offer a variety of custom-fit earpieces to provide hearing protection, including:

  • Custom-fit musician plugs for protection from occupational and/or recreational noise hazards without losing fidelity.
  • Custom-fit earplugs for protection against other occupational/recreational noise hazards like construction work, factory work, farming, and gunfire.
  • Custom-fit swim earplugs for protection from water.

 

Pediatric Hearing Loss

Childhood hearing loss can impact a child’s quality of life and language development. Hearing helps your child speak, read, appreciate music, and receive warnings of approaching harm.

It is essential to detect hearing loss in children as early as possible to provide them with the best possible outcomes. The majority of hospitals offer newborn hearing screening before discharge, and all children should be screened for hearing loss before one month of age. Infants may begin to use hearing aids as early as one to three months of age.

85% of all children experience at least one ear infection, and second-hand smoke in the home increases the risk of middle ear infections and respiratory allergies in children.

 

Treatment Options for Hearing Loss

At Advanced Audiology, we offer a range of services to help people with hearing impairments. For example, we provide noise-induced hearing loss treatment, which includes hearing aids, assistive listening devices, and patient education for effective communication strategies.

We also offer tinnitus management, such as sound therapy, counseling, and habituation therapy, to help people manage their tinnitus symptoms.

Hearing loss is a serious and growing problem that affects millions of people worldwide. However, by taking precautions to protect your hearing and seeking treatment when necessary, we can improve your quality of life and prevent further hearing loss.

At Advanced Audiology, we are dedicated to helping people with all types of hearing impairments, and we encourage everyone to take steps to protect their hearing health. Whether you have loud sound induced hearing loss, tinnitus, or any other hearing concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us at our DeWitt or Haslett locations or complete our contact form.

[1] NIH Hearing Loss: Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis)

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Identifying infants with hearing loss - United States, 1999-2007. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 59(8): 220-223.

[3] Lin FR, Niparko JK, Ferrucci L.  Hearing loss prevalence in the United States. [Letter] Arch Intern Med. 2011 Nov 14; 171(20): 1851-1852.

[4] Based on calculations performed by NIDCD Epidemiology and Statistics Program staff:  (1) using data from the 1999-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES); (2) applying the definition of disabling hearing loss used by the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Expert Hearing Loss Team (hearing loss of 35 decibels or more in the better ear, the level at which adults could generally benefit from hearing aids).

[5] WHO World Health Organization: Deafness and Hearing Loss

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