3.3. Unaddressed hearing loss has a profound effect on individuals, and hearing aids can assist to counteract negative effects.
Studies show that quality of life is significantly lower among people with hearing loss, and people with hearing loss tend to secure lower rates of employment. Additionally, W.H.O. estimates that unaddressed hearing loss poses an annual global cost of U.S.$750 billion with a negative impact on education, social life and employability of those with hearing loss.22 Negative outcomes associated with hearing loss can be attributed primarily to three factors:23
- LEARNING. In children, hearing loss can adversely affect speech acquisition, learning, and academic performance. In L.M.I.C.s, children with hearing loss may not receive schooling, which may contribute to unemployment later in life. It is important to identify children with hearing loss early and provide rehabilitative support. In most H.I.C.s, newborn hearing screening is the standard of care. In the U.K., for example, newborn hearing screening has coverage rates as high as 99%. In many L.M.I.C.s, newborn hearing screening is not routine. W.H.O. recommends that newborns identified with hearing loss start using hearing aids, combined with rehabilitation services, from the age of 3 months to support speech and language development.
- SOCIAL. The inability to communicate with others can have an adverse social and emotional impact due to loneliness, isolation and frustration. A study in Nigeria concluded that elderly people with hearing loss have higher rates of depression, reducing their interesting in daily activities, with 62% reporting depression symptoms as opposed to 17% for those without hearing loss.24
- HEALTH. Loss of hearing can increase the incidence of dementia, among other comorbidities such as falls.25 One study suggests that individuals with hearing loss have a two to five times higher risk of dementia, depending on severity, than those with normal hearing.26 Hearing loss is also associated with accelerated cognitive decline among older adults.27
Hearing aids can have a transformative impact on reducing the negative outcomes of hearing loss. A study conducted by World Wide Hearing (W.W.H.) and Sonrisas que Eschuchan Foundation in Guatemala in 2016 assessed the positive impact of hearing aids among 180 people with moderate to profound hearing loss. In less than a year of usage, the study found that 56% reported improved ability to communicate with family and friends and 88% reported that hearing aids had positively changed their enjoyment of life.28
Shine, a 3-year-old girl, had her first hearing assessment in November 2017 in Lusaka, Zambia when her mother brought her to the clinic due to delayed speech but was not aware that this was the result of hearing loss. Shine was tested using play audiometry (a technique used to test the hearing of young children to respond to sounds as part of a game), which confirmed that she has severe sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. After impressions of her ears were taken to make a custom earmould, Shine was fitted with hearing aids. Shine's mother was taught how to use hearing aids. In a follow-up appointment, the audiologist noted that Shine had been wearing hearing aids for 11 hours per day and additional tests confirmed that she was benefitting from the hearing aids.
