Hearing Aid Awareness Week turns up the volume on hearing loss issue

Every day thousands of people turn up the volume on their television and ask their family members to speak up because of hearing loss.
But most don’t really believe they have a problem.
“Hearing loss is an invisible injury,” said Margaret Dean, Ph.D., CC-A, section chief in Audiology. “There is no visible reminder that something is wrong and the condition is easily denied.”




Because of the lack of general knowledge about hearing loss, the International Hearing Society created Hearing Aid Awareness Week (October 18 – 24, 2009) to bring attention to this issue and the state-of-the-art hearing aid technology of today.

“We’ve come a long way even in the last ten years,” Dr. Dean said. “Hearing aids used to be all analog and fit a more general type of hearing loss. But today hearing aids are digital and can be manipulated to fit any type of hearing loss.”

Not only have hearing aids become more technologically advanced, but they have also become more discreet.
“We are now able to put the receiver inside the person’s ear where it is very unnoticeable and not as much of a problem,” Dr. Dean said.

Scott & White audiologists have been placing these aids, called Receivers In The Ear (RITE) for over a year.
People who suspect they have hearing loss, should make an appointment with an audiologist and have their hearing checked.

“You don’t know what you’re missing out on until you get it back,” Dr. Dean said. “(Hearing aids) can make a huge difference in how you interact with the people you love and work with.”
Concerned about your hearing? Take a brief, hearing self-assessment questionnaire and learn more about Scott & White’s audiologists.