Chime survey highlights stigma around hearing loss

To mark World Hearing Day on March 3 next, Chime, the national charity for deafness and hearing loss, wants to challenge the perceived stigma around hearing loss.

It is reminding Offaly residents worried about a deterioration in their hearing that they can contact its centre at Church Street, Tullamore for free advice and support.

The charity's most recent survey revealed that 59% of respondents said that people who develop hearing difficulties delay getting a hearing aid because of the stigma associated with them.

The survey was carried out amongst a sample of the Irish population aged 50 years and older, the age when hearing loss first begins for many people.

Brendan Lennon, Head of Advocacy, Research and Public Affairs for Chime, said: “We are asking people in Offaly to get a hearing test in the same way they’d get an eye test, or their blood pressure checked. One of the biggest problems in trying to overcome the stigma around hearing loss is that people don’t talk about it enough.

"Due to worries about ageism and perceived social embarrassment, people deny it, hide it, or ignore it. The truth is the reverse, if people take steps to tackle a deterioration in their hearing, their quality of life improves exponentially as a result.

"Research has shown that 80% of people who get hearing aids say they have improved their mental wellbeing and social relationships and wish they had got them earlier, “ he explained.

Many successful people are known for wearing hearing aids, among them former US president Bill Clinton, actor Steve Martin, actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Jodie Foster, alongside singer Chris Martin from Coldplay and American singer and television personality Will.i.am.

Other key findings of the survey were that 43% said that they had noticed a deterioration in their hearing over the past five years but only one in four of those had taken any action to address it by for instance, going for a hearing test. Well over half said they had never spoken to anyone about their hearing. When they did, it was more likely to be with family members rather than their GP or an ear specialist.

73% agreed that hearing difficulties have a significant impact on a person’s social life and 77% agreed that the issue of hearing loss is largely ignored and needs more attention.

According to the Chime charity, Ireland has a low uptake of hearing aids compared to other developed countries, dispensing less than half the number of hearing aids compared to the UK per head of population.

The top two barriers were cost and perceived stigma. Recent changes in grant support have helped to address the first barrier but not the second.

According to Chime, hearing loss is the third most common health condition in adults, and the most common amongst older people. Additionally, the charity states eight per cent of the adult population need audiological support – that is 300,000 adults in Ireland – but only one in five are receiving it.

"Due to the well-documented mental and social risks of hearing loss on quality of life, we are asking the government to follow the call of the World Health Organisation in developing a population wide screening programme that supports people in taking action earlier,” Brendan Lennon continued.

For more information, visit www.chime.ie