How to Handle Hearing Loss
There’s no way around it, hearing loss is scary. One day you’re complaining that everyone has conspired against you to mumble for some unknown reason, and the next you’re coming to terms, badly, with the truth: you’re losing your hearing. Thankfully, losing one’s hearing fully is very rare, but with “one in three people in the United States between the ages of 65 and 74”1 experiencing hearing loss, and a further half of those older than 75 noting “difficulty hearing” – hearing loss is far from an unfounded phobia.
Age-Related Hearing Loss or “presbycusis” is the degradation of miniscule hair’s ability to pick up certain pitches in the inner ear. Presbycusis is prominent, irreversible, and immensely difficult to say – but, as we’ll see, hope is certainly not part of the loss.
One of the main problems with the issue of hearing loss, is that humans are strangely well equipped with a tool to utterly ignore the problem: namely, the ego. Presbycusis occurs gradually, and usually both ear drums are affected simultaneously – as such, the feeling of hearing loss is akin to someone secretly, and minutely turning down the sound of your television over a period of decades. Rather than say “hey, this TV isn’t working right”, the ego dictates you become frustrated and shout at love ones about how “shows are nothing like the used to be – what happened to all the speaking?!”.
How An “I” Hurts An Ear
This bizarre analogy is sadly a reality for many dealing with hearing loss in the modern world. Vanity lures our sensibilities into downright silly decisions more often than anyone cares to admit. For every Chopin, there are countless more MC Hammers and Vanilla Ices that line our CD collections – after all we did look positively fetching in those parachute pants – but, thankfully, history sides with greatness, good ideas, and genius over fads or trends. There are many fantastic hearing tests you can take on line (like this one – link) which can let you know exactly how your hearing is holding up.
Hearing loss is natural, but not dealing with it when we have nifty technological advances which can help, is as bizarre as wearing parachute pants and, well, doing anything, frankly. Early stages of hearing loss are far from severe. A hearing aid will most likely be unnecessary, and even discouraged by your GP in the very early stages. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get the most out of your listening life. The difference between total clarity, both in hearing music and the world around you, may be as simple as placing a headphone in your ear – something very on-trend at the moment. Mimi Hearing Technologies pride themselves on keeping up to date with the latest advances in the science of sound, hearing loss, and all things ear. You can take a test to check your hearing, and use their application to adjust the sounds of the external world or your favorite music to your individual hearing profile. So banish your hearing loss fears once and for all – in this regard history, trend and ego are on your side. What are the odds?!
