I’ll have some minor surgery like my friend did, and then my hearing will
be okay. Many people know someone whose hearing improved after medical or surgical treatment. It’s true that some types of hearing loss can be success-fully treated. With adults unfortunately, this only applies to 5-10% of cases.

I have one ear that’s down a little, but the other one’s okay. Everything is
relative. Nearly all patients who believe that they have one “good” ear actually have two “bad” ears. When one ear is slightly better than the other, we learn to favor that ear for the telephone, group conversations, and so forth. It can give the illusion that “the better ear” is normal when it isn’t. Most types of hearing loss affect both ears fairly equally, and about
90% of patients are in need of hearing aids for both ears.

Hearing loss affects only “old people” and is merely a sign of aging. Only 35% of people with hearing loss are older than age 64. Close to six million people in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 44 with hearing loss, and more than one million are school age. Hearing loss affects all age groups.

If I had a hearing loss, my family doctor would have told me. Not true! Only 14% of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss during a physical. Since most people with hearing impairments hear well in a quiet environment like a doctor’s office, it can be virtually impossible for your physician to recognize the extent of your problem. Without special training, and an understanding of the nature of hearing loss, it may be difficult for your doctor to even realize that you have a hearing problem.