Both hearing loss and vision loss are extremely common. While both are a type of sensory loss, the treatments for each are very different. We review how they are different below.
Hearing Aids Are Less Common than Glasses
According to The Vision Council, “There are 166.5 million US adults (63.7%) wearing Rx eyeglasses as of 2021.” Meanwhile, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders report, “About 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from using hearing aids”; however, only one in five people who could benefit actually uses one.
Hearing Aids Don’t Restore “20/20” Hearing
When you put on a pair of prescription glasses fit for your vision loss, in many cases, your vision is essentially restored to 20/20. The same effect is not achieved by putting in a set of hearing aids, however. Rather than restoring hearing, hearing aids work by amplifying sounds to a level your damaged ears can detect.
Hearing Aids Require an Adjustment Period
As stated above, you can see well as soon as you put on your glasses for the first time. Again, with hearing aids, it’s different. There is an adjustment period with hearing aids where your brain needs time to re-learn how to process sounds, like your partner’s voice at Penny Lane Coffehouse on Franklin over the sounds of other patrons’ conversations. The longer you wait to seek treatment for your hearing loss, the longer the adjustment period will be.
Hearing Aids Require Follow-Up Visits
Once you leave your ophthalmologist’s office, you probably don’t need to return for another year or two for a follow-up eye exam. However, when you leave your audiologist’s office, plan to return over the next several weeks and months. You’ll need to do this because the programming of your hearing aids will need to be tweaked, as it was initially based on the results of your hearing test, which took place in a soundproof booth, not real-world situations. To learn more or to schedule an appointment with an audiologist to be fit with hearing aids, call Hearing Healthcare Center, Inc. today.