【Creative Cultivation Program】Why is it better for the elderly to get hearing aids sooner rather than later?

Author: Wang Jie

Reviewer: Chief Physician of Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University

Child: "How are you doing lately?"

Old man: "Oh, I had a full lunch."

Child: "...No, I'm asking how you are feeling."

Old man: "Itchy? I'm not itchy?"

child:"……"

When we communicate with the elderly, we often encounter such funny and embarrassing scenes. This is because the hearing of the elderly tends to decline. This phenomenon gradually appears with age and is a common phenomenon in the aging process of the human body.

Although the fictional dialogue above seems a bit funny, as an elderly person, it is actually very painful inside, because in addition to the alert protection function, the most important function of hearing is to communicate with others. If hearing is significantly reduced, daily verbal communication will inevitably be affected, which will greatly affect the quality of life and mental health of the elderly.

So why do the elderly have hearing loss? Should they wear hearing aids to improve it? Let’s talk about this issue today.

Why do older people lose hearing?

Scientific research shows that in addition to systemic and ear diseases, senile hearing loss is also related to the following:

1) “Aging” and decline of the auditory system;

2) Genetic factors;

3) External environmental factors, such as long-term exposure to high-intensity noise and use of ototoxic drugs.

But in general, this kind of decline is indeed difficult to avoid. What we can do is to pay more attention to protecting our hearing in normal times. Fortunately, even if the elderly have hearing decline, there are still ways to remedy it and try not to affect communication as much as possible. However, many elderly people are unwilling to do so. Why is that?

Should older people wear hearing aids?

Traditionally, people believe that hearing loss is inevitable for the elderly, so they passively accept hearing loss, but cannot accept wearing hearing aids to make their "aging" obvious to the public. Behind this phenomenon lies the question of how to actively treat hearing aging and how to formulate rehabilitation concepts.

The 2001 World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health emphasized the "bio-psycho-social" concept, and disability rehabilitation needs to pay attention to related social issues. Hearing loss or hearing impairment not only affects the physical and mental health of the elderly, but also affects the quality of life, social interaction, and even personal safety if the hearing loss is severe. In view of the hearing loss in the elderly, we should actively deal with the various problems caused by the limited direct and indirect communication caused by hearing loss or hearing disability, and provide scientific and effective hearing rehabilitation programs for the elderly with hearing loss or hearing impairment to avoid passive separation from the surrounding communication environment.

As family members, we should also understand the knowledge related to hearing aid fitting, actively persuade the elderly to undergo hearing tests, and fit hearing aids if necessary, because this can not only improve the quality of life of the elderly, but also make the whole family more harmonious. Just think about it, if the daily communication with the elders is not smooth, it will definitely accumulate resentment and anger, and affect family relationships.

Is it okay to buy hearing aids for a few hundred dollars online?

A large number of research results show that wearing hearing aids is the best solution. However, the public knows very little about hearing aids, and some people even believe that wearing hearing aids will cause a rapid deterioration in hearing.

The fact is that if you choose hearing aids scientifically and learn and master their performance, hearing aids will not cause hearing loss. If you buy inappropriate hearing aids without professional and accurate hearing tests, it will be like putting a square structure in a round hole, which will never fit. Not only will it not improve your hearing, but it may also cause hearing damage.

So how can we choose the right hearing aid? First of all, actively make an appointment with an experienced otolaryngologist for a detailed otolaryngological examination, except for diseases that need treatment, and conduct hearing tests to determine the nature and degree of hearing loss, and then make an appointment with a qualified audiologist for hearing aid consultation and selection, so as to achieve the maximum hearing aid effect. It should be noted that detailed audiological testing is a prerequisite for appropriate selection and achieving the best hearing aid effect. Obtaining precise and accurate data on the degree of hearing loss in both ears provides an accurate fitting plan for hearing compensation of hearing aids, thereby releasing the best hearing aid performance. In addition, no hearing aid is completely defined as a "senile hearing aid". In view of the characteristics of deafness in the elderly, high-performance hearing aids are more needed to achieve the best hearing aid effect. If the number of adjustable frequency channels of the hearing aid is too small, the output intensity of the hearing aid cannot accurately match the inconsistent characteristics of hearing loss at each frequency, and some frequencies may be over-stimulated and some frequencies may be under-stimulated, resulting in poor user experience, many complaints, and even negative emotions towards the hearing aid.

Most hearing aids on the market currently use digital signal processing technology. According to the style of hearing aids, they can be divided into:

① Cassette-type hearing aids (basically eliminated). This type of hearing aid is a rectangular box the size of a small radio. It has a high background noise, the sound is easily distorted, and the sound quality is poor.

② Bone conduction hearing aids. Different from behind-the-ear and in-ear hearing aids, bone conduction hearing aids do not emit sound directly, but instead produce audio mechanical vibrations. They are used in cases of congenital external ear occlusion or when traditional air conduction hearing aids are not suitable.

③Behind-the-ear hearing aids have various appearances and are suitable for most people with hearing loss.

④ Customized in-ear hearing aids have a compact appearance and are customized according to the size of the user's ear canal. They are suitable for patients with mild to moderate hearing loss.

In the face of hearing impairment and speech communication barriers in patients with presbycusis, early detailed hearing tests and high-performance hearing aid selection can not only improve audibility and prevent hearing deprivation, but also improve frequency resolution and time domain resolution in a noisy environment. In addition, learning and mastering the performance of hearing aids is also an important part of achieving the best listening effect.

This article is produced by Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Cultivation Program. Please indicate the source when reprinting