Blog – Michaelides and Vermaas

Be Careful of DIY Hearing Care

Michaelides & Vermaas — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 16:01:50 +0000

Be Careful of DIY Hearing Care
The Better Hearing Institute has issued a warning to consumers on the risks associated with purchasing over-the counter, ‘one-size-fits-all’ hearing aids instead of consulting a hearing health care professional.

In its warning the BHI noted that hearing loss is sometimes the symptom of a serious underlying medical condition that the audiologist will pick up during your hearing evaluation. Hearing devices purchased over the counter or Internet without a consultation, may result in devices not accurately customised and may even damage your remaining hearing.

Over 1.1 Billion Young People are at Risk of Hearing Loss

Michaelides & Vermaas — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 07:09:46 +0000

Nearly 50% of people aged 12-35 years – or 1.1 billion young people – are at risk of hearing loss due to prolonged and excessive exposure to loud sounds, including music they listen to through personal audio devices. Ahead of World Hearing Day (3 March), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have issued a new international standard for the manufacture and use of these devices, which include smartphones and audio players, to make them safer for listening.

“Given that we have the technological know-how to prevent hearing loss, it should not be the case that so many young people continue to damage their hearing while listening to music,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “They must understand that once they lose their hearing, it won’t come back. This new WHO-ITU standard will do much to better safeguard these young consumers as they go about doing something they enjoy.”

Over 5% of the world’s population – or 466 million people – has disabling hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children); impacting on their quality of life. The majority live in low- and middle-income countries. It is estimated that by 2050 over 900 million people – or 1 in every 10 people – will have disabling hearing loss. Hearing loss which is not addressed poses an annual global cost of US$ 750 billion. Overall, it is suggested that half of all cases of hearing loss can be prevented through public health measures.

Features of safe listening devices

The Safe listening devices and systems: a WHO-ITU standard recommends that personal audio devices include:

“Sound allowance” function: software that tracks the level and duration of the user’s exposure to sound as a percentage used of a reference exposure.
Personalized profile: an individualized listening profile, based on the user’s listening practices, which informs the user of how safely (or not) he or she has been listening and gives cues for action based on this information.
Volume limiting options: options to limit the volume, including automatic volume reduction and parental volume control.
General information: information and guidance to users on safe listening practices, both through personal audio devices and for other leisure activities.

The standard was developed under WHO’s “Make Listening Safe” initiative which seeks to improve listening practices especially among young people, both when they are exposed to music and other sounds at noisy entertainment venues and as they listen to music through their personal audio devices. The WHO-ITU standard for safe listening devices was developed by experts from WHO and ITU over a two-year process drawing on the latest evidence and consultations with a range of stakeholders, including experts from government, industry, consumers and civil society.

Reference: https://www.who.int/news/item/12-02-2019-new-who-itu-standard-aims-to-prevent-hearing-loss-among-1.1-billion-young-people

If you feel like you are suffering from any form of hearing loss, feel free to contact Michaelides & Vermaas and let our Dynamic Team assist you!

Over 430 Million People worldwide have disabling Hearing Loss

Michaelides & Vermaas — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 06:12:04 +0000

Over 5% of the world’s population – or 430 million people – require rehabilitation to address their ‘disabling’ hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children). It is estimated that by 2050 over 700 million people – or one in every ten people – will have disabling hearing loss.

‘Disabling’ hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 35 decibels (dB) in the better hearing ear. Nearly 80% of people with disabling hearing loss live in low- and middle-income countries. The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age, among those older than 60 years, over 25% are affected by disabling hearing loss.

Hearing loss and deafness

A person who is not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing – hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears – is said to have hearing loss. Hearing loss may be mild, moderate, severe, or profound. It can affect one ear or both ears, and leads to difficulty in hearing conversational speech or loud sounds.

‘Hard of hearing’ refers to people with hearing loss ranging from mild to severe. People who are hard of hearing usually communicate through spoken language and can benefit from hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive devices as well as captioning.

‘Deaf’ people mostly have profound hearing loss, which implies very little or no hearing. They often use sign language for communication.

Causes of hearing loss and deafness

Although these factors can be encountered at different periods across the life span, individuals are most susceptible to their effects during critical periods in life.

Prenatal Period

Genetic factors – Include hereditary and non-hereditary hearing loss
Intrauterine infections – such as rubella and cytomegalovirus infection

Perinatal period

Birth asphyxia (a lack of oxygen at the time of birth
Hyperbilirubinemia (severe jaundice in the neonatal period)
Low-birth weight
Other perinatal morbidities and their management

Childhood and adolescence

Chronic ear infections (chronic suppurative otitis media)
Collection of fluid in the ear (chronic nonsuppurative otitis media)
Meningitis and other infections

Adulthood and older age

Chronic diseases
Smoking
Otosclerosis
Age-related sensorineural degeneration
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Factors across the life span

Cerumen impaction (impacted ear wax)
Trauma to the ear or head
Loud noise/loud sounds
Ototoxic medicines
Work related ototoxic chemicals
Nutritional deficiencies
Viral infections and other ear conditions
Delayed onset or progressive genetic hearing loss

Reference: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss

If you feel like you are suffering from any form of hearing loss, feel free to contact Michaelides & Vermaas and let our Dynamic Team assist you!

9 Myths about Hearing Loss

Michaelides & Vermaas — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 10:57:26 +0000

As it is not always obvious when people have hearing loss, and it is not often discussed, hearing loss is often referred to as an “invisible disability,”

Research has shown that:

Only 1 in 5 people who would benefit from a hearing aid actually use one.
People with hearing loss may wait up to 10 years before they do something about it.

The reason for this seems to be the stigma that hearing loss carries. People associate hearing loss with getting old or visualize having to wear hearing aids which they perceive as ugly.

There are a lot of myths regarding hearing loss.

It is important to be open about hearing loss and how it can affect people’s lives, both positively and negatively. In order to breakdown the stigma of hearing loss, there are 9 myths regarding hearing loss which you should know .

You tell yourself you would know if you had hearing loss.
You tell yourself it is not worth the trouble to improve your hearing.
You convince yourself that hearing aids wouldn’t make a difference.
You feel if you are hearing impaired, you should just turn up the volume.
You decide that hearing aids won’t work for you.
You tell yourself hearing aids are ugly.
You feel hearing aids with make you look and feel old.
You tell yourself you can save money by just getting one hearing aid.
You feel hearing aids are too expensive.