Celebrating Better Hearing and Speech Month

Every year the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) celebrates the month of May as Better Hearing & Speech Month (BHSM). The organization raises awareness about communication disorders and how ASHA members can provide life-altering treatment. The theme for BHSM in 2019 is “Communication Across the Lifespan,” which aims to identify the signs of hearing loss and communication disorders in infants, toddlers, school-aged children, and adults.

In the United States alone, nearly 48 million adults, aged 18 and over, are living with some degree of hearing loss. Unfortunately, many who could benefit from wearing a hearing aid have never used one. The National Council on Aging conducted a large-scale survey that showed that adults who used hearing aids reported significant improvements in mental health, social life, relationships at home, and many others. ASHA is a wealth of information, especially during Better Hearing & Speech month, updating their website throughout the month with insight to help you identify the signs of disabling hearing loss.

Signs from Birth and Childhood

Signs of communication disorders can be identified from as early as birth. As children begin to communicate non-verbally and vocalize, there are common milestones to have in mind. ASHA offers this comprehensive list of signs a child might have a language disorder:

• Does not smile or interact with others (birth and older)
• Does not babble (4-7 months)
• Makes only a few sounds or gestures, like pointing (7-12 months)
• Does not understand what others say (7 months-2 years)
• Says only a few words (12-18 months)
• Words are not easily understood (18 months-2 years)
• Does not put words together to make sentences (1.5-3 years)
• Has trouble playing and talking with other children (2-3 years)
• Has trouble with early reading and writing skills (2.5-3 years)

IdentifyTheSigns.org also offers a list of signs of hearing loss in children. It includes signs some may think are obvious, like not paying attention to sounds (birth-1 year) or not responding when their name is called (7 months-1 year), but in a child’s early developmental years these signs can be telling. Children can also suffer in their schooling if they have a degree of hearing loss that has been undetected and untreated. Often reading and math are affected, they feel socially isolated and unhappy, and sometimes physical indicators manifest, like pulling or scratching at their ears or experiencing ongoing ear discomfort after exposure to loud noise.

This site, maintained by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, also provides a link to find a hearing health professional should parents have more questions.

Signs from Adulthood

Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent health concerns in adults that is too often left untreated. Many regard hearing loss as an inevitable inconvenience that comes with aging, but it is so much more. It has proven to affect mental health, social life, personal relationships, career, and overall quality of life.

Identifying signs of hearing loss in adulthood is largely our own responsibility. We must pay attention to the recurring moments when we ask people to repeat themselves, if we have trouble hearing because we cannot filter out background noise, when we have trouble hearing on the phone, and more. These are a few of the myriad indicators that a checkup with a hearing health professional would be to our benefit.

The consequences of disabling hearing loss when left untreated can lead to more serious health conditions. “Communication Across the Lifespan” highlights some of these conditions below:

• Dementia. Adults with mild, moderate, and severe hearing loss were 2, 3, and 5 times more susceptible, respectively, to dementia, according to Johns Hopkins research.
• Diabetes. People with diabetes were twice as likely to have hearing loss as people without the disease, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed.
• Falls. People with mild hearing loss, > 25 dB, were nearly 3 times more likely to have a history of falling, according to Johns Hopkins research. Every additional 10 decibels of hearing loss increased the chances of falling by 140%.
• Mortality. A study in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery found that among U.S. adults aged 70 and up, those with hearing loss were 21%–39% more likely to die over the next several years than those without hearing loss. Although researchers note that the findings are not evidence that hearing loss causes earlier death, it demonstrates the need to take hearing loss seriously.
• Social Isolation and Depression. Researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders have found a strong association between hearing loss and depression among U.S. adults of all ages.

There is an online self-test at asha.org/public/hearing for anyone with questions about their hearing. The results will reveal if a full hearing evaluation by an audiologist is recommended. Audiologists custom-fit assistive hearing devices and provide audiologic rehabilitation, focusing on helping people live well with their hearing loss.

There’s no reason to live with untreated hearing loss! This May, take the opportunity to test your hearing and shop our discount hearing aids in honor of Better Hearing and Speech Month.