Hearing Loss Boston MA

Provided By:

By Chester Decker, MSc

(NC)-More than three million Canadians of all ages suffer from hearing loss, a physical problem that can develop any time and usually is gradual and painless. You may not realize you have hearing loss because it evolves so slowly, but it can inhibit your ability to experience sounds to the extent that it can affect your life and those around you. Causes include aging, long-term exposure to noise, heredity, birth trauma, illness, reactions to medications, ear wax, tumours or head injury.

Because hearing loss is gradual, you may not be aware of its extent until someone else does. Recognizing the condition is the first step toward improving quality of life. Symptoms include difficulty hearing in public gatherings where sound sources are far away, hearing the television or telephone, understanding conversation in groups, misinterpreting what others say, hearing noise but not understanding speech, or noticing that others seem to mumble.

Hearing loss should not be a source of embarrassment. However, many who have not yet accepted the reality of their condition develop coping methods in difficult listening situations, such as asking others to repeat themselves or speak louder, turning to one side while listening, turning up audio volume to a disturbing level or avoiding gatherings where background noise makes it hard to understand conversation.

Get tested. A hearing care professional will administer a painless, quick and safe test that checks your ability to recognize tones and words at different volumes. The data produces a unique hearing pattern recorded on a chart called an audiogram, which is used to determine whether you might benefit from hearing instruments or whether medical treatment is indicated.

Hearing instruments can reconnect people to the joy of hearing and are made to selectively increase the volume of the sounds you want to hear. They can make soft sounds audible while making moderate or loud sounds comfortable, and are designed to provide relief in both noisy and quiet situations. To meet the different needs of Canada's growing community of baby boomers and the hard-of-hearing, Siemens Hearing Instruments, a division of Siemens Canada Limited (www.siemens.ca/hearing)has developed a wide array of instruments to suit various lifestyles, hearing losses and style preferences.

While no hearing instrument can solve every hearing problem or restore normal hearing, they are designed to provide programmable and adjustable amplification so you can hear better. Consider a yearly hearing test as an important part of your physical examination.

- News Canada