Issue 34.11
Do you remember wearing your first pair of glasses out of the optometrist’s office? Weren’t you amazed at how detailed the world really was? That’s because vision, like hearing, can slowly deteriorate without us even realizing it. It was impossible to know what you were missing, but you wouldn’t go back to a fuzzy world after bringing it into focus.
Why is it that people have no problem getting their vision corrected, but won’t deal with their hearing loss? Imagine what it would be like to hear and understand more clearly after living with hearing loss for 7 years. It takes people, on average, 7 years of blurred hearing to seek help. You’d want those 7 years and increased clarity back once you heard what you’d been missing. Most people express amazement and disbelief at the sound quality and ease of understanding with today’s modern hearing devices. Maybe people don’t get their hearing tested because they don’t have to. What if people had to take a hearing exam, like an eye exam, in order to drive? It wouldn’t be ignored and over 34 million more Americans would be wearing hearing devices. Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in America today!
“Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people.” –Helen Keller
Currently, 65% of people with hearing loss are younger than retirement age. It’s due to the increased amount of damaging noise we’ve been exposed to over the years. Rock concerts, military service, heavy machinery, and loud stereos and TV’s are just a few reasons we have more loss than most all other generations.
Don’t put off getting tested! Studies prove early detection and treatment of hearing loss can literally transform the lives of the individual and his or her family members. Left untreated, hearing loss has many negative consequences that one would not necessarily associate with hearing problems; including, but not limited to a correlation with: Alzheimers, isolation, depression, discrimination, and decreased salary by up to $30,000/year.
So, if you are age 45 or better, contact Nilsson Hearing Center and ask for a Complimentary Annual Hearing Evaluation in order to establish your baseline and continually monitor any hearing changes that make take place over the years ahead. Make sure you can hear clearly, your quality of life and communication can be improved.
Mark W. Nilsson, B.S., BC-HIS is a Nationally Board-Certified Hearing Instrument Specialist at
Nilsson Hearing Center Inside Red Cliffs Mall – Next to Sears and can be reached at (435) 628-3192.