Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Myths

Mature businessman with hearing loss reading

Bombarded with information from a variety of sources on a daily basis, it is difficult, if not sometimes impossible to sort fact from fiction.  We can’t provide you with information on every topic.  But we can help you to sort fact from fiction when it comes to hearing loss and hearing aids.

10 Common Misconceptions about Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids

Myth: People with hearing loss tend to be older adults.
Truth: Presently, only 30% of the 38 million Americans with hearing loss are 65 or older.

Myth: If you have a hearing impairment, you know it.
Truth: In most cases, hearing loss happens so gradually that millions of Americans have no idea that they have a correctable hearing loss.

Myth: A hearing aid will damage your hearing.
Truth: A properly fitted and maintained hearing aid will not damage your hearing.

Myth: Nothing can be done about nerve damage.
Truth: In truth, we can help nearly 95 percent of people with hearing loss.

Myth: A hearing problem is an inevitable part of growing older, and there’s nothing I can do to prevent it from happening to me.
Truth: You can take steps to prevent hearing loss. Noise is one of the most common causes of hearing loss; millions of Americans have already suffered irreversible damage to their hearing from noise. We could prevent of a third of all hearing loss with proper ear protection.

Myth: I can’t afford hearing aids.
Truth: There is a wide price range in hearing aids just like there is for other consumer products.

Myth: Only very loud noises cause hearing damage or loss.
Truth: Unfortunately, noise doesn’t have to be excruciatingly loud to cause hearing loss. Exposure to a constant loud noise (a busy subway, construction sites) for just 15 minutes a day can gradually cause permanent damage.

Myth: Hearing problems are rare.
Truth: Medical case histories suggest that nearly 10 percent of the population is afflicted with hearing loss. Most of the time, people do not consult their doctors about the problem.

Myth: I have one ear that might be bad, but the other one’s okay.
Truth: Everything is relative. Nearly all patients who believe that they have one “good” ear actually have two “bad” ears. Consequently, when one ear is slightly better than the other, we learn to favor that ear for the telephone, group conversations, and so forth. It can give the illusion that “the better ear” is normal when it isn’t.

Myth:  If I had a hearing loss, my family doctor would have told me.
Truth: Unfortunately, only 14% of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss during a physical. Since most people with hearing impairments hear well in a quiet environment like a doctor’s office, it can be virtually impossible for your physician to recognize the extent of your problem.

Finally, there’s only one way to know what’s going on with your hearing and that’s to have it checked.  If we find a problem, we will discuss the solutions with you.  Sometimes we don’t find a problem at all, but it never hurts to be sure.