By Dr. Max S. Chartrand Ph.D.

The human sense of hearing has been called a 'most precious of gift'.
Indeed, it contributes more to our social, mental, spiritual, and physical well being than all the other senses combined. In fact, language and communication would nearly cease to exist without it.
Relationships that bind society together would evaporate.
Intellectual progress would stop, and technological progress would grind to a halt.

Today, hearing loss is considered to be the most pervasive yet least treated health condition of all physical handicaps in the United States. Each year, it drains at least $60 billion in economic loss from the GDP, and acts as a hidden 'tax' on every man, woman and child in America, to the tune of over $216 per capita and growing.

About half of all sufferers are over age 65. Strangely, though, few--even those suffering from serious hearing impairment—can or will attribute the very marked communicative and psychosocial effects of hearing loss to its source.

Instead, hearing loss is often masked over by its very symptoms, which can be shared by such maladies as depression, anxiety, hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit disorder (ADD), and social paranoia. Hearing loss can also cause the breaking of bonds in intimate and personal relationships, poor or difficult-to-attain academic achievement, diminishing ambitions, failing income, and a host of language and cognitive disorders. Yet, when presented with these very symptoms, the last place some astute health professionals will explore is the hearing health state of the individual.

Children with delayed auditory and attentional development resulting from repeated ear infections are too often given medication and habilitative therapy. Older adults are often over diagnosed with dementia. Those in-between too often suffer broken marriages, lost job advancement, and a host of psychosocial problems because of undiscovered and uncorrected hearing impairment. Indeed, only about 20% of those who can benefit from amplification and assistive device technology and counseling have taken advantage of it.

But this does not have to be. Technology and clinical application have advanced so remarkably in recent years that now the biggest barrier keeping hearing impaired individuals from moving forward is nearly always a lack of understanding about hearing loss and the marvelous help that is available today.

At DigiCare we work with others in the hearing health field to change this tragic scenario:through aggressive public and professional education, through cooperative efforts to make resources more accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. We intend to break through this near 'universal denial', and to boldly point the way to better hearing and quality of life.

Hearing instrument technology has advanced to the point that at least 90% of all permanent hearing losses can be helped significantly. Assistive devices fill the situational gaps where hearing instruments and cochlear implants leave off. And for the nearly 1 million severe to profoundly impaired children and adults, multichannel cochlear implants can now provide exceptional speech understanding and unprecedented communication ability. Add the exciting and dynamic self-help consumer movement with their national associations and publications, and good excuses for putting off hearing help are in fact, no more.

HEARING LOSS DEFINED

Conductive Hearing Loss

Physical obstruction, infection, allergy, deformity, or otherwise medically treatable hearing loss. Involves the external ear and/or middle ear structure. Constitutes only about 8% of all hearing loss. Most prevalent among young children. Rare in adults.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Damage or deterioration of the delicate hair cells, ganglia or neural fibers, and/or the supportive structure of the inner ear. Constitutes at least 90% of all losses. Most common causes: noise exposure, ototocity, or disease. Predominant among older adults, especially in the form of 'presbyacusis' or hearing loss associated with aging. Rare in children.

Central Auditory Deficit

Deficiency in the neurons or intermediary processes of the central auditory system (at the brain stem and /or auditory cortex). Common causes: sensory deprivation (from uncorrected hearing loss), stroke, and trauma. Frequently overlying with other forms of loss. Characterized by lack of tonal or language comprehension than threshold acuity.

Psychogenic Loss

Not an actual hearing loss; of inorganic nature. Formerly known as 'hysterical deafness'

Note: Many hearing losses exhibit one or more of the above conditions, with varying loudness growth and distortion components that make each loss unique. This can make hearing loss complicated to both diagnose and treat.

Current U.S. Hearing Impairment Statistics

(2002, Aural Rehab Concepts):

• A total of 28.76 million Americans with losses greater than 30dB PTA.
• 14.8 million with mild loss (<30-45dB PTA), 450,000 hearing aid users.
• 11.26 million with moderate loss (46-70dB PTA). 3.9 million hearing aid users.
• 2.7 million with severe and profound loss (>70dB PTA), 1.7 million hearing aid and cochlear implant users.