The discussion in this article is going to be attempting to answer the question about what level of hearing loss requires a hearing aid (and types of hearing loss). In order to understand our topic a little better let's look at some stats that will, hopefully, open our eyes to the problem of hearing loss.
Now, this is not something to worry about if you think you might have hearing loss. There is help to be found. Speaking as someone who has hearing loss there is an upside. You always have an excuse to not hear someone. This comes in handy if you just need some time to get lost in your own head. You should try it sometime. It's fun.
Some Quick Stats About Hearing Loss
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, more than 90 percent of deaf children are born to parents who can hear. Not surprisingly, the majority of age-related hearing loss is reported by people in the 60 to 69-year-old age group.
Now, this certainly does not mean that they are the only ones dealing with hearing loss. According to the NIDCD, of all Americans over the age of 18, about 15 percent of them report dealing with some level of hearing loss.
Another strong indicator of those who will have some sort of hearing loss are people who work around loud noises. Of this group, About 18 percent of adults between the ages of 18-69, who have been exposed to loud noises at work for more than 5 years, report hearing loss in both ears. This is called occupational noise exposure.
All of the above stats come from the following website: NIDCD
These are just a few of the many stats that could be quoted here. So, we can clearly see that hearing loss is definitely a serious problem that many people deal with in the United States.
What Are Some of the Warning Signs That You Need to Be Aware of That Might Give You a Clue That You Might Have Developing Hearing Loss?
One of the first things you might notice is that you are straining to hear people when you are in an environment with a lot of background noise, such as a restaurant. As a person with mild hearing loss, this is one of the first things I noticed.
Another thing I realized I was doing after it was pointed out to me, is that I was doing a lot of half-listening to people and half reading lips. What I mean is, I was listening to them talk but because I could not hear them very well.
So, I read their lips at the same time to help fill in the blanks, so to speak. Sometimes this is the only way I can keep up with the conversation. Of course, asking people to repeat themselves is part and parcel of what we are talking about here. You might find yourself doing that a lot. That is a big clue.
Another thing to note is if your family complains that you have the television volume up too high. You may not realize how loud it is but your family is getting blasted out of the living room.
Another item that is interesting is not being able to hear people who have a very high or very low pitched voice. This is an odd one but it's very true. You may find that you have a difficult time hearing those types of voices. It may be trouble with high pitched voices for one person and then low pitched voices for another. But, this may be something for you to watch out for.
This next one kind of goes with what I was talking about earlier in the article about reading lips. But, you may find that you simply follow social cues as you sit with your friends or family and follow along with them that way. You may not even hear what is being said. But, you can somewhat figure it out by watching body language and, again by reading lips.
But, the question at hand is, what level of hearing loss requires a hearing aid?
Let's Talk About Levels of Hearing Loss
There are many levels of hearing loss that range from normal hearing levels all the way up to a profound hearing loss. Below are hearing loss ranges that are considered common:
**Source: Clark, J. G. (1981). Uses and abuses of hearing loss classification. Asha, 23, 493–500.
I got the above table from: ASHA
As you can see, you can have a wide range of hearing loss. But, at what level do you begin to need hearing assistance?
Let's Break These Hearing Levels Down Into a Simpler Format
Let's make them 4 distinct categories:
Mild hearing loss can be understood as having a difficult time hearing low-level noises. This would be noises like whispering, low hums or buzzes, low television volume settings and etc. It may also make it difficult to hear when you are in a noisy environment such as a restaurant or store with a lot of background noise.
You may be relegated to reading lips in such an environment if you don't have some type of hearing aid. This problem, in a noisy environ