Hearing Loss is Nothing to be Embarrassed About

December 9, 2015

Walking around with toilet paper on your shoe is embarrassing; losing your hearing, on the other hand, is nothing to be embarrassed about. We use our ears tirelessly every single day, and it is no wonder that they suffer as a result. Just think of all of the noise that you encounter in a busy city like Calgary, and the effect that it has on not just your own hearing, but on every residents’ hearing. You’re not the only one dealing with hearing loss, and you should not be embarrassed by it.

Losing some or all of your hearing is much more common than you might think. About 20% of adults, aged 19 to 79, reported suffering from mild to severe hearing loss in one or both ears, according to the 2012 and 2013 Canadian Health Measures Survey. In reality, this number may be much greater as a Statistics Canada survey found that “the majority of Canadians with measured hearing loss were not aware they had any hearing problems. About 70% of adults and 83% of children or youth with measured hearing loss did not report any diagnosis of hearing problems by a healthcare professional.”

If you had trouble with your vision, you wouldn’t go about your day without glasses or contacts, would you? Of course not; that would be dangerous. Why would you treat your hearing any differently? It is important to be able to clearly hear what is being said or going on around you, and hearing aids can make that possible. There is nothing embarrassing about being safe and smart.

If you just don’t feel comfortable with others being able to see that you are wearing hearing aids, there are many options.

Hearing loss typically comes on gradually, so most people have no idea that they have hearing loss until it has progressed quite far. This is why it is important to be proactive and to have your hearing tested, whether you have concerns about it or not. Academy Hearing Centres provides Full Diagnostic Hearing Evaluations for Adults and is well equipped to assist you with any of your hearing needs.

Singing the wrong words to the song is embarrassing, but it is avoidable - if you take care of your hearing needs.