Gym Shorts: What was that you said?

Our hearing is one of the most valuable senses we have. It’s something we don’t often appreciate until it starts to go and causes issues – mainly interrupting our communication. Part of looking after ourselves and our health includes keeping an eye on our hearing (pun intended!).

I have a personal connection to hearing loss as it is a generational issue on my mother’s side of the family. My grandfather, my mom and some of my siblings have experienced hearing loss. So I knew it was a good idea as I got older to be tested regularly for hearing loss.

My mother’s hearing loss was particularly bad and became worse as she got older. For the past 20-30 years of her life, without the help of hearing aids, she could not hear. Nada. Not a word. But she did become an expert at lip reading. Yep. In my family, only my brother has been spared from wearing hearing aids. The lucky sap.

I purchased hearing aids for the first time when I was in my late 50s. I had no trouble getting used to them. I had been around hearing aids for a long time. Nor am I shy about wearing them. They help me hear better, after all. Sounds are much clearer and I don’t have to keep asking, “Excuse me? What was that you said? Did I hear you correctly?”

Our ears are one of the most advanced and perceptive sensory organs we have. Some degree of hearing loss comes hand-in-hand with aging. Hearing loss is often called an invisible condition and can be easily ignored because others can’t see that an individual has it. Hearing loss means you have a decreased sensitivity to sounds that people normally hear.

The Canadian Hard of Hearing Association reported that the 2016 Canadian Health Measures Survey found 19 per cent of Canadians experience a significant hearing loss that interferes with their ability to hear speech, and that 4.3 per cent of Canadian children (aged six to 19) have some degree of hearing loss.

The downside of a loss of hearing is that it may lead to less socialization and even depression. Hearing well helps you stay connected with others, reduces mental fatigue and improves quality of life.

It’s important to get tested if you think there’s an issue with your hearing or if you have hearing loss in your family. I try to get tested regularly and this year I was tested at a hearing clinic in Kincardine.

It was my first time in that clinic and I have to say the hearing instrument specialist, Victoria Weber (right), was awfully gracious since she had to put up with my antics during the test. When you sit in that cool sound booth, there’s this weird urge to want to sing or pretend you’re a radio host.

Weber is certified through The Association of Hearing Instrument Practitioners of Ontario (AHIP).

It takes about 45 minutes to get tested since the specialist needs to test each ear, and you have to identify the sounds and words that you hear, that is, if you hear them! Weber had good news for me - my hearing had not changed compared with a test from two years ago. In other words (yes, there’s another pun in there somewhere), my hearing did not get any worse.
Weber listed some examples of hearing loss to watch out for, such as when you:
 

• Think everybody is mumbling or that sounds are muffled
• Frequently ask people to repeat themselves
• Have trouble hearing clearly, especially when there is background noise
• Find group conversations are difficult to follow
• Have trouble hearing when a speaker isn’t facing you

Weber said a very common sign that your hearing is getting worse is when others think you have the volume on the TV or radio up too loudly. “It’s very common for people not to notice that they are losing their hearing because it develops slowly,” she said.

Personally, I struggle to hear monotone sounds clearly. All I hear is a mumble. Thank goodness for the hearing aids since that problem is resolved. The aids can also have Bluetooth included which is great for talking on the phone or watching TV.

There are different types, sizes, and price ranges of hearing aids. Mine are discreet and fit over my ear with a tiny receiver going into my ear canal.

The good news is that if you need hearing aids for the first time, you may qualify for funding for up to $500 for each ear through the Government of Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program. Weber said a health card is required and the grant can be applied for by a hearing instrument specialist or an audiologist on your behalf after you’re tested and it’s found you need the aids.

Hearing tests are free for anyone aged 18 or older, and appointments can be booked in clinics throughout Ontario. Here’s a link to one.

Some days I feel like a superhero wearing my hearing aids because when I pull one of my bigger, broader smiles that go from ear-to-ear, the arm on my glasses ends up turning up the sound button in my hearing aids. I’d say smiling and hearing better are a great combination.