A misconception is a view or opinion that is incorrect because it is based on faulty thinking or facts that are incorrect. A hearing loss can be an invisible disability which only adds to the confusion. The problem with misconceptions is that they usually only further the frustration level of both the person with the hearing loss and others around them.
Hearing loss is a relatively harmless condition.
Evidence is mounting that hearing loss in older patients is not just a relatively benign condition that, at its worst, leads to frustrated family members who can’t make themselves heard. Research by at least two independent groups has shown a strong association between hearing loss and cognitive decline. The results are troubling enough to cause one investigator to call for an all-hands-on-deck push to make age-related hearing loss a public health priority.
Only old people have hearing loss.
Of the estimated 38 million people with some form of hearing loss, only 30 percent are 65 or older.
If I only have hearing loss in one ear, I can still hear normally.
Normal hearing requires both ears. The loss of hearing in one ear will impact your ability to hear particularly in noisy listening situations. Since most types of types of hearing loss affect both ears, it’s possible that your perception of a “normal ear” really just means one ear is better than the other. When in fact you may an asymmetrical hearing loss (meaning one ear hears better than the other but both are below normal.
Your hearing loss cannot be helped.
In the past, many people with hearing loss in one ear, with a high frequency hearing loss, or with nerve damage have all been told they cannot be helped, often by their family practice physician. This might have been true many years ago, but with modern advances in technology, nearly 95% of people with a sensorineural hearing loss can be helped with hearing aids.
Hearing loss can’t be prevented.
Some things that can cause hearing loss are preventable. Exposure to excessive amounts of noise is one of those things. 30 million Americans are exposed to dangerous noise levels everyday. Unfortunately it doesn’t always take years and years of exposure to loud noise to cause a hearing loss. Your hearing can be damaged permanently even after a single incident of exposure to an extremely loud noise. A shotgun blast or an explosion depending on your proximity to the noise could permanently damage your hearing after a single exposure.
These are just a few of the misconceptions people have regarding hearing loss. Don’t let information you have that may be wrong prevent you from seeking a solution to your hearing problem today.