Audiologist encourages getting hearing checked this May

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – May is Hearing Month and one expert says it’s a great time to get yours checked.

Dr. Ted Venema, an audiologist, says hearing loss is considered an invisible problem.

“You can’t see it so people often sweep it under the rug because you would believe what you see, and you can’t see hearing loss,” he tells NEWS 1130. “And it usually gets confused with cognitive decline and someone’s just not listening.”

He says whether it is caused by age or the noise around us, hearing loss often takes a back seat to vision loss.

“You can see blindness because you can see the cane, and everybody lends an elbow to help the person across the street. But you can’t see hearing loss and so it always gets underestimated and swept aside.”

That’s why there are efforts this month to raise awareness.

Venema, who speaks for NexGen Hearing, says it’s often free to get a hearing test and whether it’s caused by age or the constant loud noise around us, it’s easily corrected.

“Walk in and you’ll get a good idea and explanation of what’s going and if you need hearing aids they’ll advise you, and if you don’t you don’t.”

He quotes Hellen Keller to highlight the importance of hearing, saying blindness cuts people off from things while hearing loss cuts people off from people.

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