How Does Hearing Loss Affect Daily Life？

 

What is hearing loss？

“Hearing loss is commonly measured using pure tone audiometry and classified based on the audiometric hearing thresholds. Any decline in hearing capacity is referred to as hearing loss or hearing impairment which may range in severity from mild to complete.” -Reported by WHO in World Report On Hearing.

 

Over 1.5 billion people are suffering hearing loss globally

Threading your way among the throngs of people in the morning. You hear that the stallholders shouting vigorously, the birds squeaking, the friends whispering. People with normal hearing are accustomed to these sounds. But it's regrettable for hearing loss-they might not hear those.

According to a WHO report: over 1.5 billion people suffering some degree of hearing loss. It would be grown to 2.5 billion by 2050, that's approximately one in four people globally. A lot of people suffering hearing loss for several years. They feel constrained in their daily routine. Lifestyle-daily becomes challenging, such as crossing the street or making a phone call. They may choose to give up some activities. These will adverse consequences for their work and living.
 

Initial effects of hearing loss

There are lots of problems with hearing loss. The most common problem is that having difficulty or inability to hear weak sounds. (For example, they have difficulty in hearing  quiet running water, raindrops outside, the ticking of clocks, the chirping of birds.)

Besides, hearing loss people are unable to distinguish certain words when they are in a noisy environment or the voice source is far away. They often need to be repeated by the speaker again. But in simple listening environmental conditions, their hearing difficulties are not particularly obvious. Such as a one-to-one dialogue.
 

Long-term effects of hearing loss

With hearing loss aggravated, the performance of hearing difficulties will become more obvious.

For example, the phone rings or door rings might be often not heard frequently. For another one, the voice of the other party can not be heard clearly when making a telephone call. The volume is adjusted too loud when watching TV or listening to the radio. In a noisy place, hearing-impaired people find it more difficult to distinguish sounds. These difficulties will affect their lives and communication in varying degrees.
 

Effects on mental health

Moreover, the impact of hearing loss is not limited to difficulty with sound and speech signals in daily life. The impact of hearing loss will also involve long-term changes in other aspects.

For instance, People often hard to understand others in social activities. Hearing impairments would be hard of hearing what others said. Especially in noisy places, they usually ask another person to repeat what they said.  They feel difficult to communicate with others. They are unable to wholly understand the conversations.

They won't join in over the years. Thus, people with hearing impairment often feel extremely embarrassed in such social situations.

Over time, cause of the hearing loss, they cannot get any fun during social activities. so, they gradually stay away from social activities. They become more and more lonely for the rest of their life. For another example, affected by hearing loss people would have to change their hobbies and some daily leisure activities.

It is hoped that we should pay more attention to hearing loss.  If there are some problems with your ears, please ask for professional advice. Professional hearing centers and local ENT physicians should be able to provide a comprehensive hearing test for you. Choosing the right hearing aids or hearing amplifiers can also help you.