Hearing Loss in women

Dr. Nicole Anzalone, AuD., CCC-A

Many 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.

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Dr. Nicole Anzalone AuD., CCC-A

Hearing for balance and safety

The advantages of hearing aids outweigh the consequences of untreated hearing loss. Hearing loss negatively impacts quality of life. Based on current studies, hearing aids can help serve to maintain our cognitive function, balance and safety. It is important to be proactive about treating hearing loss because we know now that treating hearing loss is time sensitive. Untreated hearing loss can put us at risk of impairing our abilities to recognize and understand sounds and speech if we deprive ourselves of hearing for too long. This is true of any degree of hearing impairment including mild hearing loss. Waiting too long may impair cognition, cause memory loss and possibly early onset dementia. At Syracuse Hearing Solutions, we can screen for these potential problems related to hearing loss.

Untreated hearing loss can lead to the loss of independence, making conversations difficult and negatively impacting relationships with family and friends. Being able to hear conversations by wearing hearing aids gives them more confidence and abilities to participate without the fear of misunderstanding, being seemingly confused, or replying with a wrong response in conversations. Hearing aids can eliminate the embarrassment or fear that they are a burden on their families because they frequently must ask others to repeat themselves.

I became interested in audiology because I saw how disruptive hearing loss was to a mother and her children and how their relationship was regained when the mother could hear and interact with her children again. It is so rewarding to the patient and their families when they can hear better and easier. SWM

Dr. Nicole Anzalone is a doctor of audiology at Syracuse Hearing Solutions in Camillus.