After a lifetime of listening, you might find that your hearing does not seem as sharp as it used to be. Our hearing tends to change gradually over time. However, there are some steps you can take to protect your precious hearing.
In this segment of the Wellcast, Erin Voye, Doctor of Audiology at the Allina Health Woodbury Clinic, discusses the prevention and effects of untreated hearing loss.
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Can You Prevent Hearing Loss?
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Learn more about Erin Voye
Erin Voye, audiologist, Woodbury clinic
Erin Voye is a licensed audiologist with professional interests in hearing loss, hearing aids, hearing conservation, aural rehabilitation and communication strategies.Learn more about Erin Voye
Transcription:
Can You Prevent Hearing Loss?
Melanie Cole (Host): After a lifetime of listening you might find that your hearing doesn’t seem as sharp as it used to be. Our hearing tends to change gradually over time. However, there are some steps you can take to protect your precious hearing. My guest today is Dr. Erin Voye. She’s a Doctor of Audiology at the Allina Health Woodbury Clinic. Welcome to the show, Dr. Voye. What’s the prevalence of hearing loss? Is this something that’s an automatically assumed thing -- that we’re all going to lose our hearing as we get older?
Dr. Erin Voye (Guest): Well, for the most part, there is some hearing loss as we age. Usually – there are studies that show 1 in 4 over the age of 65 have hearing loss, so I think it is more prevalent than some people are willing to admit.
Melanie: What are some signs that it’s happening because I find, Dr. Voye, that people are much more patient with someone who is blind than someone who is going deaf or losing their hearing. They get very impatient, and they say, “Well, why can’t you hear me?” What are some of the signs we should be looking for, and red flags that signal that this loved one of ours is starting to – or ourselves – starting to lose some of that hearing and that maybe there’s a way to alert people so that they would be more patient with them?
Dr. Voye: Yeah, definitely. I think sometimes it’s more of a funny thing as we start to lose our hearing, but asking people to repeat themselves more often, or noticing that the volume on the TV or the radio is maybe louder than others prefer or louder than you used to have it, experiencing even ringing in the ears can be a sign of some hearing loss. Complaining that people mumble, “It’s not my fault. Everyone’s trailing off,” is another thing that we hear often. But yeah, usually it is those family members that start to notice somebody is having trouble before they actually have concerns themselves.
Melanie: How often should we get our hearing checked?
Dr. Voye: There’s nothing that is regulated, but I always think it’s a good idea to – at Medicare age, 65, why don’t we just get a baseline hearing test and check things out? But also, people who have a family history of hearing loss you would want to get your hearing checked sooner. If they have been working in noisy environments – factory workers, farmers, construction workers, people who are exposed to those loud noises throughout their career, we tend to see hearing loss as well. Just the first sign -- but even getting a baseline hearing test -- so that we can see if there is any progression as things get worse or as we age.
Melanie: So then let’s talk about treatments. If you start to notice that somebody is starting to lose their hearing, or they come in for that baseline hearing test, right away do you go towards using a hearing aid – and I’d also like to talk about the advances in hearing aid equipment these days, but what is the first thing you do with somebody when you notice that there’s some slight loss?
Dr. Voye: Number one, we want to make sure that there’s no simple wax buildup, and so we check to make sure there’s no wax buildup. Sometimes, just getting a hearing test – and even if there’s a mild hearing loss, we don’t necessarily jump to hearing aids right away. It may just be different communication strategies like making sure that if you’re trying to have a conversation with somebody, turn down the radio, or TV, or distracting noises. Putting yourself in better listening situations, so if you’re out at a restaurant if you can sit in a booth with high backs, or with your back against a wall, that’s going to help to decrease background noise coming in. There’s simple things that way, but then the next step could be hearing aids, and whether one or two is better, everybody is a little bit different, so depending on their needs --
Melanie: So tell us what’s going on in the world of hearing aids today, because they seem so small, and so tiny, and some of them are invisible, and yet, some of the tiny ones have battery issues for older people – they can barely grab the tiny batteries and tiny little – I know because I’ve done this with so many people. Tell us what’s going on and what are some of the cool advancements in the world of hearing loss?
Dr. Voye: Yeah, there’s definitely a stigma of hearing aids – people see these big, beige bananas that their great-grandfather used to wear and they’re much sleeker and smaller than that. They have gotten very, very small. They are these very sophisticated computers that you can wear, and so that is something that people are often surprised by is the size. They like that – “Oh, that’s what it looks like?” That’s kind of fun to see.
And then the batteries? Yes, they’re definitely an issue, so that’s something we keep in mind for each different person, so some of the older people who may have dexterity issues or vision issues we may go with a different style, or maybe a bigger battery for those certain people. And there are hearing aids that are rechargeable now. They are the behind-the-ear style, but that is something that is kind of nice as well. You do have to put them on a charger at night, but there’s no fumbling with those fingers to get those batteries in and change them frequently, like once a week or so.
The other exciting thing for hearing aids is that there are several manufacturers that have hearing aids that will connect directly to an iPhone and some android phones via Bluetooth, so you are able to use your cellphone as a remote control to turn the hearing aids up and down, volume-wise, or change different settings. In the iPhones, they also will stream the phone calls directly to your hearing aids, so it’s this hands-free, cool benefit to the hearing aids that instead of having to make adjustments to the hearing aids, it looks like you’re maybe just texting somebody on your phone, but really, you’re adjusting your hearing aids. That’s designed to some of those younger, maybe 40s, 50s, 60s patients who aren’t quite ready to talk about their hearing aids, but it gets them in the door a little bit sooner.
Melanie: And wrap it up for us with your best advice. Is there any way to prevent this hearing loss – this age-related hearing loss? And give us your best advice, Dr. Voye, about things we can do in our younger years that may help to protect our hearing?
Dr. Voye: Yes, my rule of thumb is it’s never too late to protect your hearing from loud noises, so wearing hearing protection when you’re around loud noises, like mowing the lawn, power tools, chainsaws. Even at concerts – I know it’s not the cool thing to do, but rock concerts, really noisy places like that, wearing hearing protection. When you are listening to headphones or music through headphones, keeping the volume at a safe level, at about 60% or less volume is usually a safe volume to listen to for extended periods of time. Take control of your hearing loss. Be an advocate. If you know somebody who is experiencing hearing loss or that’s maybe having trouble, have them get a hearing evaluation. And again, all it is is a baseline. We’ll go over results and then go through those recommendations of either communication strategies or talking about the hearing aids if we need to.
Melanie: Thank you, so much. That’s really great information, and so important for people to hear. Thank you, Dr. Voye, for being with us today. You’re listening to The Well Cast with Allina Health, and for more information, you can go to AllinaHealth.org, that’s AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks, so much for listening.
Can You Prevent Hearing Loss?
Melanie Cole (Host): After a lifetime of listening you might find that your hearing doesn’t seem as sharp as it used to be. Our hearing tends to change gradually over time. However, there are some steps you can take to protect your precious hearing. My guest today is Dr. Erin Voye. She’s a Doctor of Audiology at the Allina Health Woodbury Clinic. Welcome to the show, Dr. Voye. What’s the prevalence of hearing loss? Is this something that’s an automatically assumed thing -- that we’re all going to lose our hearing as we get older?
Dr. Erin Voye (Guest): Well, for the most part, there is some hearing loss as we age. Usually – there are studies that show 1 in 4 over the age of 65 have hearing loss, so I think it is more prevalent than some people are willing to admit.
Melanie: What are some signs that it’s happening because I find, Dr. Voye, that people are much more patient with someone who is blind than someone who is going deaf or losing their hearing. They get very impatient, and they say, “Well, why can’t you hear me?” What are some of the signs we should be looking for, and red flags that signal that this loved one of ours is starting to – or ourselves – starting to lose some of that hearing and that maybe there’s a way to alert people so that they would be more patient with them?
Dr. Voye: Yeah, definitely. I think sometimes it’s more of a funny thing as we start to lose our hearing, but asking people to repeat themselves more often, or noticing that the volume on the TV or the radio is maybe louder than others prefer or louder than you used to have it, experiencing even ringing in the ears can be a sign of some hearing loss. Complaining that people mumble, “It’s not my fault. Everyone’s trailing off,” is another thing that we hear often. But yeah, usually it is those family members that start to notice somebody is having trouble before they actually have concerns themselves.
Melanie: How often should we get our hearing checked?
Dr. Voye: There’s nothing that is regulated, but I always think it’s a good idea to – at Medicare age, 65, why don’t we just get a baseline hearing test and check things out? But also, people who have a family history of hearing loss you would want to get your hearing checked sooner. If they have been working in noisy environments – factory workers, farmers, construction workers, people who are exposed to those loud noises throughout their career, we tend to see hearing loss as well. Just the first sign -- but even getting a baseline hearing test -- so that we can see if there is any progression as things get worse or as we age.
Melanie: So then let’s talk about treatments. If you start to notice that somebody is starting to lose their hearing, or they come in for that baseline hearing test, right away do you go towards using a hearing aid – and I’d also like to talk about the advances in hearing aid equipment these days, but what is the first thing you do with somebody when you notice that there’s some slight loss?
Dr. Voye: Number one, we want to make sure that there’s no simple wax buildup, and so we check to make sure there’s no wax buildup. Sometimes, just getting a hearing test – and even if there’s a mild hearing loss, we don’t necessarily jump to hearing aids right away. It may just be different communication strategies like making sure that if you’re trying to have a conversation with somebody, turn down the radio, or TV, or distracting noises. Putting yourself in better listening situations, so if you’re out at a restaurant if you can sit in a booth with high backs, or with your back against a wall, that’s going to help to decrease background noise coming in. There’s simple things that way, but then the next step could be hearing aids, and whether one or two is better, everybody is a little bit different, so depending on their needs --
Melanie: So tell us what’s going on in the world of hearing aids today, because they seem so small, and so tiny, and some of them are invisible, and yet, some of the tiny ones have battery issues for older people – they can barely grab the tiny batteries and tiny little – I know because I’ve done this with so many people. Tell us what’s going on and what are some of the cool advancements in the world of hearing loss?
Dr. Voye: Yeah, there’s definitely a stigma of hearing aids – people see these big, beige bananas that their great-grandfather used to wear and they’re much sleeker and smaller than that. They have gotten very, very small. They are these very sophisticated computers that you can wear, and so that is something that people are often surprised by is the size. They like that – “Oh, that’s what it looks like?” That’s kind of fun to see.
And then the batteries? Yes, they’re definitely an issue, so that’s something we keep in mind for each different person, so some of the older people who may have dexterity issues or vision issues we may go with a different style, or maybe a bigger battery for those certain people. And there are hearing aids that are rechargeable now. They are the behind-the-ear style, but that is something that is kind of nice as well. You do have to put them on a charger at night, but there’s no fumbling with those fingers to get those batteries in and change them frequently, like once a week or so.
The other exciting thing for hearing aids is that there are several manufacturers that have hearing aids that will connect directly to an iPhone and some android phones via Bluetooth, so you are able to use your cellphone as a remote control to turn the hearing aids up and down, volume-wise, or change different settings. In the iPhones, they also will stream the phone calls directly to your hearing aids, so it’s this hands-free, cool benefit to the hearing aids that instead of having to make adjustments to the hearing aids, it looks like you’re maybe just texting somebody on your phone, but really, you’re adjusting your hearing aids. That’s designed to some of those younger, maybe 40s, 50s, 60s patients who aren’t quite ready to talk about their hearing aids, but it gets them in the door a little bit sooner.
Melanie: And wrap it up for us with your best advice. Is there any way to prevent this hearing loss – this age-related hearing loss? And give us your best advice, Dr. Voye, about things we can do in our younger years that may help to protect our hearing?
Dr. Voye: Yes, my rule of thumb is it’s never too late to protect your hearing from loud noises, so wearing hearing protection when you’re around loud noises, like mowing the lawn, power tools, chainsaws. Even at concerts – I know it’s not the cool thing to do, but rock concerts, really noisy places like that, wearing hearing protection. When you are listening to headphones or music through headphones, keeping the volume at a safe level, at about 60% or less volume is usually a safe volume to listen to for extended periods of time. Take control of your hearing loss. Be an advocate. If you know somebody who is experiencing hearing loss or that’s maybe having trouble, have them get a hearing evaluation. And again, all it is is a baseline. We’ll go over results and then go through those recommendations of either communication strategies or talking about the hearing aids if we need to.
Melanie: Thank you, so much. That’s really great information, and so important for people to hear. Thank you, Dr. Voye, for being with us today. You’re listening to The Well Cast with Allina Health, and for more information, you can go to AllinaHealth.org, that’s AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks, so much for listening.