The importance of treating even mild hearing loss is clear to me based on my own experience and clinical research on the topic. More than a decade ago a man came to see me to have his hearing checked since he was struggling to hear and understand his family. I tested his hearing and found he had a mild hearing loss then told him his hearing was not bad enough to treat and to come back in a year to check to see if it changed. A year later I called him to schedule his annual test and he said he did not need my services since he had gone somewhere else and purchased hearing aids soon after our initial visit because I did not listen to his original complaint. I was shocked. Everything I had been taught up to that point was that hearing loss had to be at least a certain severity in order to be treated. Since that time, I have had many experiences that confirm my current belief that even mild hearing loss should be treated to improve communication in the short term and decrease the likelihood of dementia in the long term.

I was reminded of this experience a couple of days ago when a man came in for a hearing test. He had initially visited my office 2 years ago because his wife was concerned that he was struggling to hear. At that time, I found a large amount of wax in both canals which could explain his difficulty with hearing and understanding her. (This is the part of the article where I usually remind people to not use q-tips as they push wax deeper into the canal.) After the wax was removed, he noticed some improvement in his hearing and decided not to complete the test at that time. Although he initially could hear better, the improvement was not long lasting. His wife noticed that he continued to favor one ear, regularly asked her to repeat, and he told her he also had trouble understanding people, especially women, at work.

Although he was reluctant, she persuaded him to come in again and this time to be tested. We found only minor ear wax, and after removal he noticed no improvement in his hearing, so he decided he would finally have a hearing test. Testing showed he had mild hearing loss. Were it not for the experience I had many years earlier, and that both he and his wife noticed his struggles understanding, I would have just told him it was no big deal. Instead, we all decided it would be a good idea to have him try on some Genesis AI hearing aids. Once we put the hearing aids on and his wife began speaking, he immediately smiled a huge smile and said everything sounded so much more crisp and clear. He had me turn the aids off and on several times for comparison and was thrilled at how much more “vibrant” his wife’s voice was. He said he felt like he did the first time putting on glasses and that everything that was once blurry became sharp, clear, and in focus.

I was pleased and only mildly surprised that he was so excited to be hearing more clearly.  Based on 17 years of experience, I know that when a person complains of hearing loss or other hearing issues, they are not making it up and it is not “just in their head.” Every complaint is valid and should be addressed per the patient’s request. Many individuals with worse hearing loss than the individual mentioned require significantly more persuasion from family and friends before seeking help. Unfortunately, due to waiting so long, they usually do not get to enjoy the greatest benefit from wearing hearing aids. Waiting leads to degradation of the auditory system and sound processing part of the brain, which limits the effectiveness of amplification. Treating hearing loss sooner is better.