With the struggling economy, everyone is trying to save money. People are eating out less and staying home instead of taking vacations. Unfortunately, at times like this, there also is a tendency for people with hearing loss to forego physician-recommended treatments, such as hearing aids.

“Patients are coming in to have their hearing tested and even after the tests show a hearing loss significant enough that a hearing aid would help them, patients are deciding not to get hearing aids right now,” says Alan Senne, AuD, director of audiology and hearing aid dispensing at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles.

Hearing professionals at the House Ear Institute (HEI) and House Ear Clinic encourage people experiencing a hearing loss to think twice before trying to save money by not getting hearing aids when recommended. The positive impact that today’s hearing aids can have on a hearing loss patient’s quality of life, including their career success, usually far outweighs the initial investment.

Many people are not aware of the advancements made in hearing aid technology over the last ten years, which have led to major improvements in quality and choice.

Some digital hearing aids now have background noise reduction capability, directional microphones, the ability to have multiple memory settings for different environments and some have remote controls.

“Hearing aids today are not the same hearing aids that people remember their grandparents using,” says Senne. “The stigma surrounding using a hearing aid is decreasing and many hearing aids are designed so they are hardly noticeable which helps patients feel less self conscious.”

Hearing loss left untreated with hearing aids can negatively affect a person’s quality of life. Overtime, a person may find themselves not wanting to go out or be with friends because they find it difficult to participate in conversations.

A 2007 study by the Washington, D.C.-based Better Hearing Institute suggests untreated hearing loss negatively impacts household income by almost $23,000 per year. However, the study found a person using hearing aids can restore lost income by 50 percent.

“Unfortunately, untreated hearing loss can lead to a person feeling isolated from family and friends,” says Jose Fayad, MD, House Ear Clinic neurotologist and HEI researcher. “We see patients after they have been fitted with a hearing aid and they are so much happier because they are doing better at work and able to participate in life again because they can hear.”

Source: House Ear Institute