Have you noticed that over the years your wife and kids have started to mumble more? They just don’t seem to want to speak clearly no matter how many times you tell them. In fact they are getting a bit annoyed with you.
I have known for more than 10 years that I have a certain amount of hearing loss, but I had been putting off getting hearing aids until I “could afford it.” About three months ago I finally got a pair.
Man, could I hear better. In fact, after a while I had to tell Elizabeth to stop “shouting” at me. Turns out she was just talking at the level she had become accustomed to before my hearing aids, and she kept forgetting I could now hear like a normal person.
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There are different kinds of hearing aids and it can take a while to get just the right fit.
Take your time when trying different brands. You get anywhere from 30 to 60 days to try them out, and make sure you get them adjusted. I tried two brands that fit in my ear canal, but they felt a little tight, as though I had something stuffed in my ears. I finally settled on a new behind-the-ear model that runs a thin clear plastic sound tube into the ear. They are comfortable and work as well as the in-the-ear brands.
My grandchildren have stopped mumbling and I can hear bird songs again.
Is there any chance you need hearing aids?
Studies at the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health have found a great deal of hearing loss in farmers, more than in other types of work, due mostly to loud noises from farm equipment such as tractors, blowers, chain saws, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, snowmobiles and firearms. Safe noise levels are below 85 decibels, but many farm machines exceed this by two to three times.
A study carried out over 10 years by James Lankford, former dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Northern Illinois University, found similar results.
When he compared farmers’ hearing loss to the 1983 hearing sensitivity values of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration), he found that all farmer populations, aged 20-60, showed dramatically more hearing loss than the comparison group.
Signs of hearing loss include:
- Ringing or buzzing in the ears.
- Can’t understand voices of women and children.
- Have to turn the volume on TV and radio higher.
In general, if you have to raise your voice to be understood by someone a metre away, the noise is loud enough to damage your hearing. To prevent hearing loss, wear hearing protection or move away from the noise.
Farm women have hearing loss too, but unlike men, 78 percent of women were using hearing protection gear. The farm men in Lankford’s study increased their use of hearing protection to 44 percent from 30 percent over the 10 years of his project, but even those who used it did not do so on a regular basis.
The hearing technician told me that as soon as the new behind-the-ear hearing aids, which are much less noticeable than the in-the-ear kind, became available, sales soared, and it is mostly men buying them. I suspect that is because we men are not always fashion-conscious, but we are a bit vain when it comes to any form of physical frailty.
It shows up in these statistics from Lankford’s study: 78 percent of farm men believed they had hearing loss, and when asked if they would wear a hearing aid if they knew they had a significant hearing loss, 91 percent of farmers said they would, but only four percent were wearing hearing aids.
It’s not too late to look after your hearing.
Research at the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health shows that even if you have some hearing loss, hearing protection will save your remaining hearing.
Noise levels above 85 decibels should be protected against. Why not get your hearing tested now? Who knows, maybe the Workers’ Compensation Board will pay for it.
Here is the deal: if you have worked in a loud environment any time in the past, you may be eligible to receive up to $2,500 for hearing aids. Unfortunately this coverage does not normally include farms because farmers don’t usually pay workers compensation premiums. However, many farmers work off the farm in loud environments. In Alberta, that often means the oil patch, which is where I sustained some hearing loss more than 30 years ago. Consequently, WCB helped pay for my hearing aids.
Edmonton-based Noel McNaughton is a sponsored speaker with the Canadian Farm Business Management Council, which will pay his fee and expenses for speaking at meetings and conventions of agricultural organizations. To book him, call 780-432-5492, email: farm@midlife-men.com or visit www.midlife-men.com.
