really need hearing aids? · by your audiologist that your spouse have them, you should do...

www.ThePlainTruthAboutHearingAids.com

DOES YOUR SPOUSEREALLY NEED

HEARING AIDS?

Hearing CliniCs

TMntermountain udiologyIA

S P E C I A L R E P O R T

SPECIAL REPORT: Does Your Spouse Really Need Hearing Aids?2

CONTENTS

About This Special Report ........................................................................................... 3

How soon can we tell if your spouse needs hearing aids? ................................... 4

What can go wrong at an early age? ........................................................................ 5

How many patients benefit from early treatment? .................................................. 6

Why choose a specialist? ........................................................................................... 7

What if my spouse really doesn’t need hearing aids? ............................................ 8

How do I pay for my spouse’s hearing aids? ............................................................ 9

SPECIAL REPORT: Does Your Spouse Really Need Hearing Aids? 3

About This Special Report

As an audiologist, I get many questions from seniors just like you, who are not sure if their spouse needs hearing aids, if they should see an audiologist, and many other questions. In this special report, I am addressing some of the most common con-cerns and questions that I get from seniors. Throughout the pages of this special report, you will discover how soon we can tell if your spouse needs hearing aids, what can go wrong at any age, how many patients benefit from early treatment, why you should choose a specialist, and how to pay for hearing aids, in the event your spouse needs them.

Please feel free to contact my office with any questions or to schedule a FREE

Hearing Evaluation for your spouse.

Sincerely,

Dr. Keith Darrow, PhD, CCC-A

Director of Audiology Research


How soon can we tell if your spouse needs hearing aids?

Many seniors want to know just how early we can tell if their spouse needs hearing aids. That’s a fair question and one that should not go unanswered. You need to feel comfortable and confident with the information you are receiving regarding whether or not your spouse needs hearing aids.

According to the American Academy of Audiology, all individuals should have their first hearing screening by the age of fifty. I second that notion, and find that the age of 50 is the perfect age for an audiology visit. This is an important step in helping to ensure that your spouse’s ears are healthy and not increasing the risk of cognitive decline, depression, or social isolation.

By taking your spouse to an audiologist at the age of 50, we are able to establish a base-line that can be used to monitor or treat audiology needs that might arise. At this age, senior’s tend to be young, active, and healthy which means our baseline results are not skewed or diminished by co-morbidities or the aging process. For most 50 year old individuals, their visit with the audiologist is nothing more than an evaluation. However, there are a small number of seniors, around 5 to 10 percent, who can benefit from what we refer to as “interceptive audiology.” There are potentially dangerous problems that we find and address, including:

• Cancers on or in-the-ear• Diminished Speech Discrimination• Nerve Damage Hearing Loss• Conductive Hearing Loss

By addressing these issues above, we also help to alleviate social issues, where seniors may be the victim of isolation, depression, or brain shrinkage simply because of the lack of auditory stimulation to the brain. An individual’s ears and auditory processing can have a major impact on their wellbeing as they age. With a corrected hearing loss, they are more likely to be confident and social, as well as gain a host of health benefits.


What can go wrong at an early age?

As a spouse, you may believe that you can look at your loved one and notice if there is a problem with their hearing. Sometimes that can happen, but there is a lot that cannot be noticed, especially to the untrained individual. And it is these issues that make it impor-tant for a 50 year old to see an audiologist for an evaluation.

Here are some of the possible problems that can go wrong at an early age:

• Decreased Social Activity

• Increased Television Volume

• Development of Depression

• Inability to Hear in Noise

• Unable to hear with 2 or more speakers

• Brain Shrinkage

• Cognitive Decline As you can see, there is actually a lot that can go wrong, even at an early age. The best way to provide yourself, and your spouse, with a great set of ears and peace of mind is to opt for an evaluation with the audiologist by the age of 50. Most of the time, seniors don’t start getting necessary treatment at least until the age of 74, but it’s important to catch problems early, so they can be corrected and won’t lead to additional problems as time goes on.

Taking your spouse to the audiologist by the age of 50 gives you the best head start on identifying and addressing any problems, so your spouse can have a healthy, active future!


How many patients benefit from early treatment?

At this point, you may be thinking that all seniors will need to have audiology treatment early on. Relax, that’s simply not the case, so don’t spend your time worrying so much about all the “what ifs” associated with helping your spouse to get, and keep, a baseline evaluation on file. In our audiology experience, we have ex-amined many adults and found that the number of them needing early treatment is quite low. In fact, out of the roughly 10,000 audiology patients we have seen, only 5 to 10 percent of them have required early treat-ment.

Keep in mind that while it’s less than 10 percent for the number of adults we see, this number can vary, as it is influenced by a variety of factors. Such things as military service, on the job noise exposure and oth-er health issues, for example, can sometimes play a role and lead to a higher or lower number of adults who benefit from early audiology treatment.

Generally speaking, most adults do not need early audiology treatment, but unless your spouse is screened, you won’t know if you fall into that 10 percent or the 90 percent. The key factor here is early detection, making it essential that adults have their first visit with an hearing specialist by the time they are 50 years old.

Like most other health issues that can arise, being able to detect them early is the best way to address them. The only way you can detect them early is with an audiology examination. If your spouse has not yet seen the audiologist, now is the time!


Why choose a specialist?

Many people wonder why they should take their spouse to see an audiologist, rather than just visiting with their primary care physician. While a primary care physician is a part of taking excellent care of your child’s health, it is simply not enough. Seeing an audiologist is crucial to ensuring that nothing in the auditory and hearing system is over-looked and that the best possible treatments are effectively selected and carried out.

To understand why an audiologist is recommended, it is important to know what an audiologist is and what they do. An audiologist is someone is a hearing specialist. Their area of specialty and what they have intensely studied is learning all about the proper way to evaluate, diagnose, and treat hearing loss.Through the additional training that an audiologist has had, they are able to identify hearing irregularities, diagnose conditions, and treat the problem, through a variety of treatment methods available to them. An audiologist, because they are a specialist, is able to identify, diagnose, and treat such conditions as:

• Sensorineural Hearing Loss

• Conductive Hearing Loss

• Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)

• Auditory Rehabilitation

• Diminished Speech Understanding

• Lost Clarity of Speech

Throughout the health community, you will find that there are specialists. The hearing field is no different. Audiologists are specialists, who are able to take a more in-depth ap-proach at diagnosing and treating any hearing issues your spouse may have.


What if my spouse really doesn’t need hearing aids?

Perhaps your spouse has experienced some of the conditions that have been mentioned. Or maybe there have been things that have made you think that your spouse may need hearing aids, yet you have taken your spouse to the audiologist only to find out that they don’t need them. So where does this type of scenario leave you? Quite simply, it means you should work with an audiologist to monitor your spouse’s ears! Treatment might be indicated later in life if the audiologist detects any problems in future nerve damage or your spouse might simply be a can-didate for auditory training to maintain an active brain.

We always recommend that we continue to see your spouse to continue monitoring his/her ears. This will give us important information about any possible aging problems that may arise, including ear can-cers, hearing loss, etc. Continuing regular audiology check-ups is a part of a healthy lifestyle.

Ideally, your spouse should continue to have an evalu-ation with the audiologist every 12 months, so we can conduct annual checks during the time that the ears and hear-ing are changing. The best practice, when it comes to putting hearing aids on a spouse’s ears, are to do it at the “ideal time.” The only way to pinpoint the ideal time is to continue with regular evaluations. Most audiologists will provide complimen-tary evaluations, so you don’t need to worry about incurring an audiology bill every 12 months.

Not only is it in the best interest of your spouse to put hearing aids on at the “ideal time,” but it is for the audiologist as well. When we can zero in on the ideal time, it will end up saving you in the long-run, and it reduces the negative impacts of untreated hearing loss. This is an important benefit because early treatment may help slow, per-haps even eliminate the Increased Risk of Dementia.


How do I pay for my spouse’s hearing aids?

How to pay for hearing aids is one of the most common questions that I receive from spouses. This is an understandable concern. We realize many families do not have insur-ance coverage that will take care of the associated costs. Even those who have in-surance may find that it covers only a portion of their spouse’s hearing aid expenses. However, having hearing correction is such an important issue, that if it is recommended by your audiologist that your spouse have them, you should do everything possible to obtain them.

Getting hearing aids is more than just a hearing issue, although that is also important. If your spouse has ears that are not supplying sound to the brain, it can lead to issues with everything from social isolation, broken relationships and ultimate brain shrinkage and cognitive decline…making it essential that they receive the audiology treatment that is recommended for their condition.

Audiology procedures, like most other medical procedures, will cost several thousands of dollars, because of all the work involved. If your spouse needs hearing aids, it can cost anywhere from $4,500-$10,000. The good news is that there are options for those who do not have the funds readily available to pay for the treatment.

Here are a few payment options to consider:

• Flex Spending Accounts. Many people are able to afford hearing aids and other audi-ology treatments through the help of a Flex Spending Account (FSA). These accounts are set up through your place of employment and allow you to take pre-tax dollars to set aside and use for medical expenses. Because you never know when you may need this additional financial assistance, it’s a good idea to get the FSA account start-ed now. That way when you need it, the funds will be there.

• Financing. Third party financing for audiology treatment may also be a solid option. Whether it is a loan with family and friends or a personal loan obtained through a fi-nancial institution, you may be able to qualify for low interest loans that allow you to get the work done that your child needs, and you can spread the payments out over a comfortable period of time.


How do I pay for my spouse’s hearing aids? (continued)

Paying for your spouse’s audiology treatment may be a concern, but you shouldn’t let it discourage you. The payment options are there to help you so that you can help your spouse, and your relationship. When you help your spouse get hearing aids or other audiology treatment that they may need, you will be helping them more than you could possibly realize.

My patients wear hearing aids…and although they may think they were just fixing their ears, they were actually giving them-selves an active lifestyle for years to come. In all honesty, I would pay multiples of what my patients paid in order to give someone in my family the same benefits. My patients paying to have hearing aids turned out to be life changing.

Not only did getting hearing aids help them to be more confident, outgoing, and more socially ac-cepted, but it also made me realize just how important something like hearing is in the bigger picture. It made such an impact on me that I choose to stay in this career, because I want to help give that life changing experience to other adults.

Hearing aids may not seem life changing when you are not the one needing them, but I can assure you that for those who need them, it’s an incredibly satisfying feeling they get when treatment has been completed, and they can go to a restaurant, a movie, or church and truly connect with family and friends. And that’s just the social benefits. There are many health-related benefits as well, for those who work with an audiologist to ad-dress hearing issues early on.

When choosing an audiologist to work with, opt for one that has plenty of experience, has worked with many seniors, and one that your spouse feels comfortable with. De-pending on the treatment needed, your spouse may see the audiologist regularly for years to come.


I hope that you have found this special report helpful in answering some of your ques-tions regarding whether or not your spouse needs hearing aids. While I can provide some answers here to the most common questions, the best way for me to determine if your spouse needs hearing aids is to schedule a complimentary evaluation.

We are ready when you are, so please call my office today to set up an appointment for your spouse’s initial evaluation. We have helped countless other seniors, and by seeing your spouse by the time they are 50 years old, we can help ensure ear health that will give them a healthy and active lifestyle.

RICHFIELD1090 S. Cove View Rd.Richfield, Utah 84701

(435) 896-8830

MESQUITE, NV340 Falcon Ridge Pkwy #602

Mesquite, NV 89027(702) 613-0660

ROCK SPRINGS514 Broadway

Rock Springs, WY 82901(307) 362-0055

LANDER 1460 Main StreetLander, WY 82520(307) 332-5088

HURRICANE 45 South Main StreetHurricane, UT 84737

(435) 414-9100

ST. GEORGE161 W. 200 N. Ste. #110St. George, Utah 84770

(435) 688-2456

CEDAR CITY1277 N. Northfield Rd. #A200

Cedar City, Utah 84720(435) 865-6761

www.IntermountainAudiology.com

really need hearing aids? · by your audiologist that your spouse have them, you should do...

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