Understanding Hearing Loss: Causes, Symptoms & Solutions

Experienced by roughly 48 million Americans, hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition behind arthritis and heart disease. More common in older adults, hearing loss is considered by many to be an inevitable part of aging. But, as audiologist Jeanne Coburn, of Baystate Rehabilitation Care notes, “While you may not be able to avoid hearing loss, you don’t have to live a life that leaves you missing out on conversations with family and friends. The first step is determining what type of hearing loss you may be experiencing and to what degree.”

How to Choose a Hearing Aid That’s Right for You

Choosing the right hearing aid is an involved process that requires consideration of your specific hearing loss, lifestyle and more.

Dr. Linton notes, “It’s important to be sure to get a hearing aid that addresses your specific needs, fits you properly, and checks your personal boxes for style and appearance.”

Dr. Linton recommends working with an audiologist as they have a doctoral degree and extensive training on the evaluation and treatment of hearing loss. This type of education is crucial in diagnosing hearing loss and then selecting the appropriate hearing aid technology with features to effectively address your hearing difficulties.

Causes and Symptoms of Hearing Loss

Another audiologist with Baystate Rehabilitation Care, Kirsten Petrarca says, “Hearing loss is unique to everyone and can occur at any age, although some types, causes, and symptoms are more common than others. In addition, the onset and cause of hearing loss can vary from person to person. You may experience a sudden or gradual loss of hearing due to medication, a head injury, an infection, repeated noise exposure or age.”

Hearing loss can also vary as some people may have difficulty hearing low pitches, while others may not be able to perceive high ones. This is especially true with presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss.

Experienced by 1 in 3 adults above the age of 65, presbycusis affects both ears and is permanent. It typically begins between the ages of 40 and 50 and can make understanding conversations—especially in crowded settings or anywhere there’s a lot of background noise—particularly challenging.

“Very often,” says Dr. Petrarca, “people don’t realize they’re experiencing hearing loss because it develops slowly and they learn to compensate for it well. When they do notice, it’s because they suddenly recognize they can’t hear common sounds like the doorbell or oven timer, or they may realize they’re asking people to repeat themselves.”

In fact, it’s not uncommon for friends or family members to recognize hearing loss before an individual does.

Family and friends often notice that the person has missed or misunderstood parts of conversations. Family members may also perceive their loved one as being disengaged or ‘zoned out’ in group settings.”

Strategies for Coping with Hearing Loss

While a hearing aid may seem like the obvious go-to solution for hearing loss, very often people can manage their ability to communicate with a few simple strategies.

Some common strategies that help improve communication are:

• Practice face-to-face communication: make sure you can clearly see the face of the person speaking to you
• Take control of the environment: when possible, reduce or block sources of background noise when engaging with others. This may include asking to be seated in a booth at a restaurant or far from the bar or other congested areas
• Be specific: when asking someone to repeat themselves, be clear about what you missed

Another key to improving communication is enlisting the help of those you’re with. “Ask them to face you when speaking and to speak clearly—not too fast or too slow. Ask them to use full sentences to give you context for what’s being said and, if something needs repeating, to consider rephrasing it to give different clues for understanding,” says Dr. Petrarca. It is important to advocate for yourself and work with your friends and family to find different strategies that work well for you. When these strategies aren’t enough to help you communicate with those around you, then it is important to consider a hearing test and, maybe, hearing aids.

How Do You Know You Need a Hearing Aid

“Everyone has their own experience or event that causes them to recognize what they are missing and then seek a hearing test,” says Lauren Linton, an audiologist with Baystate Rehabilitation Care. “Some people come in as soon as they realize they can’t hear someone who is speaking to them from another room. Others find their way in when they’ve turned up the volume on their television to a level that is louder than others prefer. And others are pushed by family members. Regardless of how they find us, the first step to determining if they’re a hearing aid candidate is a hearing test.”

Simple and painless, a hearing test measures your ability to hear a range of sounds and determines if you have any level of hearing loss. An audiologist will have you wear headphones and indicate when you can hear tones played at different pitches and volumes.

“The test essentially creates a picture of your ability to hear,” explains Dr. Linton. “We can ‘see’ what degree and type of hearing loss you’re experiencing, how well you’re able to understand words, and if the nature of the loss is permanent. All this information informs what type of hearing aid might be right for you, or if you’re even candidate at all.”

Other things to consider when choosing a hearing aid include:

Lifestyle and Listening Environments

If you lead an active life or work in noisy settings, you may require hearing aids with advanced noise reduction capabilities to better focus on speech in these challenging, noisy listening environments. Conversely, if you primarily need amplification for one-on-one conversations or quieter settings, a more basic model may suffice.

Physical Fit and Comfort

Hearing aids come in various styles, ranging from over-the-ear to custom.

Over-the-ear aids include receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) and behind-the-ear (BTE) models while custom options include in-the-ear (ITE) and in-the-canal (ITC) models.

The severity of your hearing loss and your manual dexterity are considerations for which hearing aid style is recommended for you.

Advanced Technology

Modern hearing aids offer a range of advanced features, such as Bluetooth connectivity, remote control adjustments, GPS location (for finding misplaced hearing aids), and direct to audio that allows you to receive phone calls or listen to music directly through your compatible device.

Dr. Linton notes that while all this new technology can be incredibly helpful in managing noise and enhancing speech information, there is a cost associated with it. “It becomes a matter of balancing what you can afford with your listening needs.”

Cosmetic Preferences

While functionality should be the primary consideration, some individuals may prefer a more discreet hearing aid for cosmetic reasons. Dr. Linton says, “Today’s hearing aid users have more options than ever in terms of their device. In addition to choosing a style that’s cosmetically appealing, you can also choose the color of your hearing aid to match your hair or skin tone to further blend in its appearance.”

How to Get a Hearing Aid from Baystate Health

Obtaining a hearing aid through Baystate Health is easy. Dr. Coburn notes the first step is getting a hearing test.

Then, if you are a hearing aid candidate, your audiologist will discuss hearing aid options with you. The timeline for delivery can range from 1 to 6 weeks depending upon the style or features ordered.

If you want to schedule a hearing test, you need a referral from your doctor. Once you have that, you can reach the audiology department at 413-794-5600 and select option #2 to schedule an appointment. We’re here to help you hear better.