“Can You Hear Me Now?” is amusing when parodied in a cell phone
commercial, but there’s nothing funny when an audiologist asks that
question in real life, especially when the answer is “no.” Hearing loss
is a genuine problem in our community and
across the nation, and it is not just a result of aging. According to
the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), while one out of three
people aged 65 or older have hearing problems, approximately two to
three children out of every 1,000 are hard of hearing or deaf.
So prevalent, it is now the third most common physical condition after
arthritis and heart disease, and can be caused by exposure to noise,
infection or earwax buildup, structural changes that occur due to aging
or injury, and even as a side effect of a medication.