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HEALTHY WOMAN
Hearing loss in women Dr. Nicole Anzalone, AuD., CCC-A
M
any women delay or avoid getting their hearing checked for many reasons. Family members often have to coax their mothers, sisters, and friends to agree to have their hearing tested. It may take a lot of family arguments until someone decides to make that call to have their hearing tested. It’s often a sensitive subject amongst family members. There are many reasons for the reluctance of women to get their hearing tested and putting off their own hearing healthcare. I often hear concerns about the stigma associated with hearing loss. Women may think people will consider them as old or perceived as a handicap. Sometimes patients might say “I hear just fine, people just mumble.” This is one of the most common signs of the beginnings of hearing loss. They may be concerned about the possibility of having to wear hearing aids, often thinking that they are the large, clunky hearing aids of yester year like the ones their parents or grandparents may also reluctantly wore, but we know that modern hearing aids have improved significantly over time.
Gender difference in hearing loss When it comes to hearing, there are differences between hearing in men and women. Men are twice as likely to have hearing loss than women, mostly due to occupation and recreational lifestyles. Men also are less likely to consider hearing aids then women. However, some women may tend to miss their own hearing difficulties due to comparisons with their companion’s potentially poorer or different hearing difficulties. It is estimated that 8 million women in the US have hearing loss. Unlike men, many women tend to have poorer hearing in low frequencies than men, which is thought to be related to cardiovascular diseases or associated with hormonal changes. There are a number of other chronic diseases that are associated with hearing loss, which are not always necessarily age-related. Some hearing disorders are more prevalent in females than males due to genetic factors, some of which begin at a young age in females. Women may tend to ignore other signs of hearing loss like tinnitus. About 90 percent of people who suffer from tinnitus will have some degree of hearing loss. These are some reasons why it is important to get a hearing test as soon as hearing difficulties are suspected. Women may also ignore hearing loss because they perceive wearing hearing aids as a sign of “old age.” Some perceive hearing aids as large and clunky which is definitely not the case with most modern hearing aids. Eyeglasses are much more conspicuous than modern hearing aids. Most modern hearing aids are pretty invisible whether they are behindthe-ear or in-the-ear styles. Hearing aids are also more accepted by younger adults because many people are wearing earbuds or other devices in their ears on a regular basis, which are visible and high tech. Modern hearing aids have amazing Bluetooth connectivity features, rechargeability, sophisticated and sleek designs and miniaturized computer technology with amazing sound processing capabilities. Some women do express concerns of cost of hearing aids, but even when hearing aids are completely covered in countries with socialized medicine, only about 45 percent of people with hearing loss will wear hearing aids, versus about 30-35 percent acceptance rate in the US. So, we know that the acceptance of hearing aids is not always related to cost perception. Continued on page 26
Dr. Nicole Anzalone AuD., CCC-A
MARCH 2022
H EROES EDITION
