Hear ye, hear ye
March 3 is World Hearing Day. Anglicare supports older Tasmanians to keep their ears healthy and their hearing at its best.
According to Hearing Australia, untreated hearing loss is linked to health conditions including depression, anxiety, diabetes and heart disease.
Research shows that it can also increase the risk of developing dementia by up to five times – and the greater the hearing loss, the greater the risk.
It’s thought that a person’s brain becomes over-worked if it has to struggle to make sense of the sounds received in their ears. Hearing aids make it easier to process the information we need.
Clinical Lead Miranda Wynwood says Anglicare understands the importance of early detection and treatment.
“It will help you to stay balanced, strong and active, make it easier to communicate with your family members and live life to the fullest,” she says. “Our team members are trained to spot the signs of hearing loss. Each year they take a refresher training course on how to maintain and fit a hearing aid correctly and replace its batteries. We can help you keep your ears clean so that your hearing aid can work properly. We can also support you to attend regular hearing checks.”
What are the symptoms of hearing loss?*
The first signs of hearing loss can be hard to notice because they usually come on gradually. They might include:
- having trouble hearing in noisy places
- having trouble hearing people on the phone or if they’re not facing you
- often asking people to repeat themselves
- hearing sounds as muffled, as though people are mumbling
- needing to have the TV up louder than other people
- often missing your phone or the doorbell ringing
- hearing buzzing or ringing in your ears
- avoiding situations because you have trouble hearing.
The Hearing Australia website includes stories of everyday Australians and their journeys to healthy hearing. Head to hearing.com.au to find out more.
Find out more about Anglicare Tasmania’s Aged Care Services.
*this information was sourced from the Australian Government’s Healthdirect website.
