Left untreated, hearing loss not only negatively impacts people’s lifestyles, it can lead to lost income. This is especially true for our nation’s considerable number of baby boomers, the 76 million Americans between the ages of 44 and 62 who are reaching the height of their earning potential as they simultaneously experience the deteriorating health that can accompany aging.
For a number of years, Clarity, a leading national provider of hearing loss solutions, and the EAR Foundation, a national nonprofit devoted to hearing loss education and prevention, have joined forces to study the effects of hearing loss on boomers. What we have found is highly revealing and corroborated by similar studies confirming that boomers – the first generation with rock and roll and blaring decibels – are not only losing their hearing at a more rapid rate than previous generations, they are reluctant to admit they have a problem. Though half of boomers we surveyed reported some degree of hearing loss, many of these considered themselves too “young” to have a problem. And only one in six, or 15 percent, had been to see an audiologist or primary care physician for a medical diagnosis.
In most respects, boomers have taken advantage of the dramatic advances in medical science that have occurred in their lifetimes to live healthier, more invigorating lifestyles than any generation before them. And this invincible feeling of perennial youthfulness seems to have led many of them to assume that they could avoid the standard signs of aging, mild to moderate hearing loss being one of them. Ironically, boomers have also exposed themselves to more noise pollution – such as ever-present headsets or deafening concert venues and clubs – than their predecessors. This is one of the few health arenas in which boomers are faring worse than their parents did at the same age, with only one-fourth of their fathers and one-tenth of their mothers suffering from hearing loss.
Rather than admitting the problem, however, boomers tend to ignore that ringing in their ears or the muffled conversations and allow the symptoms to take a toll on their lives and their pocketbooks.
This is a mistake. Our research has documented that the detrimental effects for those who do not recognize or acknowledge hearing loss are widespread and intrude upon themselves and others.
They can range from minor annoyances (75 percent of boomers with hearing loss blare the television or frequently ask others to repeat themselves) to major ramifications, such as poor job performance leading to reduced responsibilities and wages, a consequence to which only a quarter of boomers admit.
The salesman who consistently exceeded his goals in years past now struggles to reach quota because he has trouble understanding the conversation on a sales call. The manager who always made a personal connection with clients no longer accepts lunch meetings because his colleague’s speech from across the table gets lost against the competing background noise. The high-powered trial lawyer constantly maintains she “didn’t hear the response,” frustrating opposing counsel, witnesses and her own legal team. In all cases, the financial success of these individuals is in jeopardy simply because they are battling hearing loss.
It’s situations like these that compromise job performance, resulting in lower salaries, smaller bonuses and fewer promotions. Hearing loss shrinks paychecks because it impairs an employee’s ability to fully engage in meetings and conversations, giving co-workers and bosses the impression he or she is less equipped to handle the job. It also decreases the chance of getting a raise and causes superiors to discount individuals when reviewing candidates for promotions. The end result is less retirement income and investment savings.
Nonetheless, only 27 percent of boomers Clarity and the EAR Foundation have studied who acknowledged experiencing hearing loss reported that it negatively affected their earning potential; the remainder seemed unaware that hearing loss played any role in their lost earnings.
Yet a study conducted in May 2007 by the Better Hearing Institute (BHI), “Impact of Hearing Loss on Household Income,” supports the correlation between loss of hearing and loss of income with specific financial data. According to Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D., executive director of BHI, people with hearing loss believe, mistakenly, that hiding their condition is an effective strategy for getting ahead in the workplace. The opposite is true, BHI found. Bosses may discount a person with untreated hearing loss simply because the individual’s communication on the job is deficient. The BHI study revealed that untreated hearing loss negatively affects household income, on average, by nearly $23,000 per year, depending on the severity.
BHI’s research also underscored that seeking out solutions is critical to not only halting an individual’s downward financial trend, but reversing it. Although people tend to make less money as their hearing loss worsens, those who turn to hearing solutions, such as hearing aids, are able to restore lost income. In fact, the use of hearing aids restores lost income by 50 percent, the study found. While people with treated and untreated hearing loss both earn less than people with normal hearing, BHI revealed that people with more severe hearing loss find that their income decline is cut in half once they start using a hearing aid. For example, the difference in income between people with mild versus profound hearing loss is $20,300 per year for those with untreated hearing loss and $10,200 for those with hearing aids.
The BHI study demonstrates that, when boomers set aside preconceived notions of stigmas attached to hearing loss, they can recover a great deal of their lost communication skills and their lost income.
Today’s powerful technology can aid those who struggle with hearing loss. Products such as amplified telephones and other assistive listening devices are readily available and strengthen communication, eliminating the need to ask your boss to repeat herself or your colleagues to speak up.
Interestingly, baby boomers are well-informed about products that can improve hearing even if they don’t tend to use them. The Clarity studies highlighted that almost all boomers were aware of hearing aids (97 percent) and about 80 percent were aware of amplified telephones that boost high-frequency sounds often missed during telephone conversations. In addition to being cognizant of the solutions, nine out of 10 boomers are also willing to invest their earnings to reinstate their lost income, with 62 percent willing to spend up to $100, enough to purchase an amplified telephone.
Now it is incumbent upon this well-educated segment of the population to be as proactive about acknowledging the reality of hearing loss and take steps to minimize its impact as they have been about addressing and improving a host of other personal and societal issues. In an age when technology is advancing faster than ever before, it’s not only easy but essential to take advantage of both audiology testing and the wealth of products available to aid better hearing.
We urge everyone who thinks they may be experiencing hearing loss to visit an ear, nose and throat doctor and then, as needed, an audiologist to seek information about the many convenient and economical devices – from hearing aids to amplified telephones to assistive listening technology – on the market today. There is no reason for boomers to lose thousands of dollars each year because of a problem that very likely is treatable. Regardless of any hearing loss boomers may experience, they all should have the ability to earn their full potential.
About the Studies
Both studies by Clarity/The EAR Foundation were conducted by an independent research company, Prince Market Research, a member of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations. The research methodology was designed to ensure that the results are accurate within a margin of error of plus or minus five percent at a 95 percent confidence level. To access the full report, visit www.clarityproducts.com/research/home.asp.
The study “Impact of Hearing Loss on Household Income” was based on data from 53,000 members of the National Family Opinion panel. The survey included nearly 2,000 adults with untreated hearing loss, 2,000 with hearing aids and nearly 40,000 with normal hearing. The research was conducted by Better Hearing Institute, a nonprofit organization. Visit www.betterhearing.org. n
Carsten Trads is the president of Clarity®, a Division of Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE:PLT) and a leading supplier of amplified telephones, notification systems, assistive listening devices and other communications devices for people with hearing loss. He is responsible for directing the strategic and financial direction of Clarity’s global initiatives and oversees all aspects of the company’s daily operations, product development and sales and marketing activities. Formerly, Trads served at GN ReSound, a manufacturer of hearing aids and audiological measurement equipment, as president of North American operations.
