TECHNOLOGY IMPROVING AS HEARING LOSS INCREASES

Remember your first rock concert, and all those nights you spent listening to your favorite band play at a local club?

Your ears do. 

"Every concert you went to aged your ears by 2 1/2 years," said Ronna Fisher, founder of the Hearing Health Center in Oakbrook Terrace. 

All those concerts of the 60s and 70s are showing their effects now in the loss of hearing among people in theii- 40s and 50s, Fisher said. 

"Hearing loss-is definitely occurring younger and younger-," she said. 

Even those who opted for elevator music over rock and roll might notice a ringing in the ears or trouble understanding conversation - two of the early signs of hearing loss. 

Action movies, a power saw, sirens, even a baby's rattle are loud enough to cause damage. 

"Any of these things can cause permanent damage in less than five minutes," Fisher said. 

Luckily, technology has advanced right along with the increased incidence of hearing loss. Those with trouble hearing no longer have to put up with uncomfortable and unsightly devices that constantly need to be fiddled with and adjusted. The latest hearing aids are actually tiny computers, tucked almost invisibly inside the ear, that automatically adjust to the needs of the wearer.

"It's a clearer sound," Audiologist Audrey Freeman of Dr. Girgis and Associates in Hinsdale said.

She, too, has seen more young adults seeking help with their hearing loss.

"We are fitting more people in their 40s and 50s than ever before," she said.

A hearing problem, she said, can strain work and personal relationships by making communication a challenge. She said the fact that people in this age group are still active socially and in the work force leads them to seek help when they start noticing trouble.

Fisher said a hearing aid can change a person's life.

"It's incredible," she said.

People who can hear properly have better relationships, personally and professionally, because better communication is easier, she said.

They also report less anxiety, less depression, and often, a new desire to get out and live.

She said people shouldn't ignore the warning signs, which include repeated pleas from family and friends that you take a hearing test.

Complaints from others that the television or radio is too loud might also point to an inability to hear, and ringing in the ears is often an early sign.

And don't assume that everyone else is mumbling. The ability to hear but not understand, especially in situations with background noise, could point to a need for help.

Fisher said those who suspect hearing loss shouldn't put off calling a licensed audiologist for an initial screening. Patients who wait too long might experience irreversible and untreatable damage.

It's best to listen to your own suspicions, and get help early.

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