Men Are Affected by Hearing Loss More than Women

We went to dinner a few weeks ago with some friends, and Ron commented on how noisy the restaurant was. He said it was hard for him to keep track of our conversation with all the background noise. Sound familiar? Hearing loss is common in men and women over 60, but more common in men. I wondered if it was true, do men have hearing loss more often than women, or did women just not talk about it? I told Ron I had noticed that so many men wore hearing aids, but fewer women did. Maybe it's just that women can hide the hearing aid with their hair. I decided to do a little research. More that 28 million Americans have some type of hearing impairment and apprpoximately 60% of them are men. It is believed that environmental factors may be the major reason why, mostly due to noisy, male-dominated occupations such as construction and factory work. The articles I read did not talk about the use of earphones to listen to music or cell phones, or concerts, but I think these are huge contributors to hearing loss. Why do boys and young men play their car stereos so much louder than women? Another factor may be the use of aspirin, acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, accoring to a study by the American Journal of Medicine in 2010. It was found that regular use of these common pain relievers increased the risk of hearing loss in adult men younger than 60. How can men change these statistics? The solution lies in prevention, especially while on the job. Men must wear the protective gear that is required in the work environment. Men and women, should turn down the volume on the car radio, head sets and cell phones. Even when men and women do experience hearing loss at equal levels, typically after age 80, there are still differences. Women seem to lose hearing in the lower frequencies first; men lose hearing in the higher frequencies. This means that men have more problems understanding consonansts and women have more trouble understanding vowels. Untreated hearing loss can cause a multitude of emotional and psychological issues, including anxiety, depression, frustration, and isolation. Encourge your loved ones who have experienced hearing loss to get it checked out. It will improve their quality of life, and everyone else around them.