Survey Explores American Attitudes about Hearing Loss

July 2010

Editor: Here's a report on a survey that explores people's ideas about what parts of their lives would be most affected by hearing loss. I think the best answer is "all of them", but it's interesting to see what the average person thinks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Americans believe that their social life and their safety would suffer the most if they had a substantial hearing loss but think it would have little impact on their sex life or income, according to a new public opinion survey commissioned by HearUSA (Amex: EAR), a national provider of hearing care and hearing aids.

The survey of 1,000 nationally-representative adults, which was conducted for HearUSA by Kelton Research, asked: If you had a significant hearing loss, which do you think would suffer the most?

The results:
Social life or relationships with friends 29%
Safety 22%
Family relationships 13%
Job performance 12%
Leisure and recreational activities 9%
Overall Health 4%
Income 4%
Sex Life 1%
Other 4%

Some other findings of the HearUSA survey:

- Nearly 40 percent of older Americans (55+) believe that their social life and friendships would suffer the most from a hearing loss;

- Women are more likely than men to feel that their family relationships would suffer the most;

- Twice as many parents think their family relationships would be most impaired by a hearing loss compared to those respondents without children. Stephen Hansbrough, HearUSA chairman and CEO, says, "Studies have shown that, left untreated, even mild hearing loss can lead to avoidance of social situations, reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety, diminished overall health, and reduced job performance and earning power. Untreated hearing loss also can jeopardize family and intimate relationships.

"Yet, while hearing aids can benefit almost everyone with a hearing loss," he continues, "they are used by only one in four of the 36 million Americans with a hearing problem."

He says that while cost is a major factor, other barriers to greater acceptance of hearing aids are perceived stigma, unfamiliarity with today's digital hearing aids technology and a confusing marketplace.