Get your journey to better health back on track by debunking these five common hearing loss myths:
Myth: I don’t need to treat my hearing loss – I feel fine
Fact: Leaving hearing loss untreated increases your risk of depression, social isolation, cognitive decline, and even falling. Research has shown using hearing devices can reverse or prevent these conditions.
Myth: I don’t need hearing protection for yard work
Fact: If you’re using anything electric or gas powered, you do. Any sound louder than 85 dB
can damage your hearing. A push mower hits 90 dB, an edger 96 dB, and a leaf blower 99 dB — at 99 dB, damage occurs in 19 minutes — so hearing protection is a must.
Myth: Hearing devices cure hearing loss.
Fact: Hearing technology treats hearing loss. It’s caused by damage — to the structures in your ear, the nerve connecting your inner ear to your brain, or the sound-processing part of your brain — so there is no cure.
Myth: Personal sound amplifiers (PSAPs) are the same as hearing aids.
Fact: PSAPs are for those without hearing loss to enhance recreational activities. They amplify all volume. Hearing aids, however, adapt to your environment and amplify only the sounds matching your unique hearing loss.
Myth: My “good ear” will compensate for the hearing loss in my other ear.
Fact: Your brain relies on input from both of your ears to pinpoint the source of a sound, filter out background noise, and process sound information.