Hearing is one of those things most of us take for granted—until it starts to slip away. We often ignore the subtle signs, brushing them off as temporary or insignificant. But here's the thing: your hearing health is crucial, and neglecting it can lead to long-term issues that might have been easily preventable. So, let’s chat about the top five signs that it might be time for you to schedule a visit to an audiologist.
1. Struggling to Hear Conversations
Ever find yourself nodding along in a conversation, pretending you heard what someone said, but really, you’re just lost? Maybe you’re constantly asking people to repeat themselves, especially in places with background noise like restaurants or crowded rooms. This is a classic sign of hearing loss. When you start missing parts of conversations or have to focus intensely just to catch what's being said, it’s not something to brush off. An audiologist in Massapequa, Long Island, can assess your hearing and help you get back to enjoying conversations without the stress.Why It Matters:
- Social connections - Good hearing is key to maintaining strong relationships and staying socially engaged.
- Mental health - Struggling to hear can lead to isolation, frustration, and even anxiety or depression over time.
Dr. Reed[/caption]
Nicholas S. Reed, AuD
Assistant Professor | Department of Epidemiology
Core Faculty | Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: It is known that hearing aid ownership is relatively low in the United States at less than 20% of adults with hearing loss owning and using hearing aids. However, many national estimates of hearing aid ownership are based on data that is over 10 years old. Our team was interested in trying to understand whether ownership in hearing aids had changed over time. We used data from 2011 to 2018 in a nationally representative (United States) observational cohort (The National Health and Aging Trends Study) of Medicare Beneficiaries aged 70 years and older to estimate the change in hearing aid ownership.
In our analysis, the proportion of Medicare beneficiaries 70 years and older who reported owning and using their hearing aids increased 23.3% from 2011 to 2018. However, this growth in ownership was not equal across all older adults. For example, while White males saw a 28.7% increase in hearing aid ownership, Black females saw only a 5.8% increase over the same 8-year period. Moreover, adults living at less than 100% federal poverty level actually saw an overall 13.0% decrease in hearing aid ownership while those living at more than 200% federal poverty line saw an overall 30.6% increase. 
Dr. Wick[/caption]
Cameron C. Wick, MD
Assistant Professor, Otology/Neurotology
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO
MedicalResearch.com: What do you see as the primary message of your findings for the general public?
Response: Older adults not satisfied with their hearing aids achieved clinically meaningful improvement in both hearing and quality of life with a cochlear implant compared to an optimized bilateral hearing aid condition.
MedicalResearch.com: Do you see your findings as changing the way older adults with hearing loss are managed?
Response: Yes and partially because this study is unique in its design and the outcomes that were measured. Specifically the study is a prospective, multicenter clinical trial conducted at 13 locations across the United States. All patients were setup with a 30-day optimized hearing aid experience before cochlear implantation (context: sometimes hearing aids are not appropriately optimized so baseline testing may not reflect the "best" that hearing aids can do). This study assesses both hearing data as well as quality of life data before and 6-months after cochlear implantation. After implantation patients were tested in both the unilateral (cochlear implant alone) and bimodal (cochlear implant plus hearing aid in the opposite ear) conditions. My paper is a subanalysis of adults 65 years and older (range 65 - 91 years) enrolled in the clinical trial. The principal investigator of the clinical trial is Dr. Craig Buchman. Dr. Buchman and myself are at Washington University in St. Louis which was the lead center for the clinical trial.
The findings of the study are meaningful because they demonstrate clear superiority of cochlear implants over hearing aids in many key areas, such as understanding speech, hearing in background noise, and ability to communicate. Hearing loss, which becomes more prevalent as we age, can negatively impact communication leading to social isolation, depression, frustration, and possibly cognitive decline. This study highlights that if patients are not satisfied with their hearing aid performance then they should be referred to a center that can evaluate for cochlear implantation. Cochlear implant indications have evolved considerably since they were first FDA approved in 1984. This study emphasizes that patients do not have to be profoundly deaf to experience significant hearing and social benefits from cochlear implants. Also, it demonstrates that cochlear implant surgery is well tolerated even as adults age and acquire other health ailments. 
