it’ s gone, it’ s gone. Once there is damage to the cells inside of your ears there is no way to recover those,” said Junta.
According to Golden Steps ABA approximately 10 million Americans have already suffered irreversible noise-induced hearing damage, and another 30 million are exposed to dangerous noise levels each day. Golden Steps also claims that for every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the risk of social isolation increases by 52 %.
“ And then you’ re kind of stuck in certain options where hearing aids are the only known treatment for hearing loss,” said Jiunta.
Jiunta says that communication strategies can be taught to help assist people with hearing loss in understanding those around them, but that there is no treatment besides a hearing amplification device, or hearing aids.
According to Jiunta the first step for someone who suspects they have hearing loss is to find an audiologist near them and schedule a hearing test; which will test what volumes you can hear, if you can hear voices at high and low volumes, and if you can hear through background noise, to then develop the treatment right for you.
Jiunta says that everyone should come in for a baseline hearing test to get an understanding of how well they can hear, and then come in every year to two years to see if there has been any significant changes that can be tracked and if any damage needs to be addressed.
The World Health Organization identifies the stigma related to hearing loss as a critical challenge confronting hearing healthcare professionals. Indeed Dr. Jiunta says that combatting stigma is a regular part of her job.
“ It’ s hard to overcome, but you’ ve also got to think, most if not all of us know someone with hearing loss- it affects one in seven,” said Jiunta.
One in seven people means 48 million people in just the U. S. suffer from hearing loss. One in three people who are aged 64-75 suffer from it, and half of all people who are 75 or older experience it as well.
And while treatment is available, people on average in the United States wait an average of seven years before seeking help, according to Golden Steps. This wait leads to an increase in the severity of the hearing loss, and increases the risk factors for encountering the other problems it can lead to, such as a loss of balance or depression.
“ You’ re not alone, and
yes hearing loss can be kind of jarring once you know that you have it, and you don’ t want people to judge you to have it. But there’ s nothing to judge about, because realistically if you have hearing loss the
people around you already know,” said Jiunta.
According to Golden Steps, about 28.8 million people in the U. S. could benefit from using hearing aids, but only about 1 in five people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually use one.
“ There should be no stigma in doing something to make communicating easier,” said Jiunta.
If you find yourself asking others to repeat themselves several times, needing to turn up your TV louder just to hear it, have a ringing in your ears, or notice other issues with your hearing, call the Bluegrass Hearing Clinic at 859-295-5729 and schedule an appointment with an audiologist.
Providing hearing services and state-of-the-art hearing technology for over 26 years!
Dr. Shelley Heath Dr. Mary Sohler Dr. Michaela Jiunta
9 Convenient Locations Bardstown • Danville • Elizabethtown • Lexington Mount Sterling • Nicholasville • Paris • Richmond • Somerset
in Richmond( 859) 623-4458
1-800-470-4757 • BluegrassHearing. com Follow us on social media at:
Good Health Magazine 2025 • 9