Frank Lin - Hearing Loss For Dummies

Hearing Loss For Dummies

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2022941589

ISBN 978-1-119-88057-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-88058-5 (epdf); ISBN 978-1-119-88059-2 (epub)

1. Chapter 7
2. Chapter 9

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 6
4. Chapter 7
5. Chapter 9
6. Chapter 11
7. Chapter 12
8. Chapter 13
9. Chapter 17

Youve arrived on the first page of the first edition of Hearing Loss For Dummies. When AARP and For Dummies asked us to write this book about hearing loss for adults, we jumped with excitement. We, your authors (Frank and Nick), have dedicated our lives to addressing hearing loss through public health research, advocacy for solutions through public policy, and the clinical management of hearing loss. To us, the need was obvious, but perhaps you may be wondering why an entire book is necessary.

Hearing loss among adults is startlingly common. Nearly half of all adults over the age of 60 years have hearing loss. Scientists and clinicians are just now understanding that treating hearing loss is important for our emotional, cognitive, and even physical health. In fact, recent research suggests hearing loss is a risk factor for social isolation, loneliness, falls, cognitive decline, and dementia.

Yet very few people recognize they have hearing loss, and fewer still seek treatment.

In our opinion, the reasons hearing loss is so overlooked and hearing care neglected include these:

• Hearing loss sets in so slowly and subtly over time that many people dont even realize what theyre missing.
• Society has painted hearing loss as an inconsequential aspect of aging with, until recently, little understanding of how it impacts our overall health.
• Hearing care, such as hearing aids, can be a costly and timely endeavor that isnt covered by most insurance, including Medicare.
• Hearing aids get a bad rap. People think its a sign of aging, when in reality, addressing hearing loss keeps you vibrant and engaged.
• Hearing loss is complex and confusing. For example: Whats mild hearing loss, and is it important? Whats a high-frequency or low-frequency hearing loss? What do all those graphs and numbers from a hearing test mean? What hearing aids and other treatments are available?

But so much has changed in just the past decade or so that the time is now right for this book.

Given the explosion of research on the importance of addressing hearing loss, Congress has approved a new category of more affordable over-the-counter hearing aids intended for sale directly to adults without the need for a professional. At press time, these new hearing aids, aimed at people with mild to moderate hearing loss, are slated to be available in late 2022. In addition, new public health initiatives have emerged to move away from vague terminology and graphs when explaining hearing loss to simple and actionable numbers that are easier for people to grasp and more clearly show how hearing changes over time.

Thats a lot of change in a short time period, and Hearing Loss For Dummies is here to break it all down for you and provide a road map for your hearing health journey.

If youre feeling overwhelmed with where to start in understanding how hearing loss happens and what can be done about it, youve come to the right place. This book is intended to act as an easy-to-read reference guide, giving you practical knowledge and actionable solutions to address hearing loss and how it affects your everyday life.

This book focuses on hearing loss in adults that develops over time. (We do not cover the complex nature of hearing loss in children, nor do we go into rare and complex medically related hearing loss in adults.) Simply put, the inner ear was not made to last forever. Every single person on this planet experiences a decline in hearing ability as they age, and most over a certain age (around 60) develop a level of hearing loss that is sufficient to begin interfering with their daily lives and is linked with an increased risk of poorer health, falls, social isolation, cognitive decline, and dementia.