Hearing loss can happen naturally as a part the aging process and people are sometimes born with hearing problems. It can also happen as a result of environmental factors, such as the various circumstance one encounters on-the-job.
If you work with heavy machinery, or if you work in a noisy environment of any kind, you could be in danger of contracting job-related hearing loss.
Hearing loss facts and figures
Hearing loss can literally affect anyone at any age. Here are a few facts and statistics you should know about:
- Approximately 15 percent of adults aged 18 and up have hearing difficulties in the United States. Approximately 25 percent of adults between the age of 65 and 74 have hearing problems and approximately 50 percent of adults over 75 years of age have hearing difficulties.
- Between two and three children out of every 1,000 babies have a detectable hearing problem in one or more ears.
- Only 16 percent of adults whom hearing aids could help have tried the devices.
- Most adults wait seven years before purchasing a hearing aid. In the meantime, they suffer from the effects of untreated hearing loss.
- People who have untreated symptoms of hearing loss experience a lower quality of life, suffer from more depression, more feelings of isolation, lower earnings, unemployment and higher medical bills for other health problems.
Why do people wait so long to get treated for hearing loss?
Part of the reason why people wait so long to treat their hearing problems is that hearing aids and other treatments can be extremely expensive. In fact, a new set of hearing aids — along with the medical appointments that accompany them — could cost a patient thousands of dollars.
How workers can pay for their hearing loss treatments
For Minnesota workers who suffer hearing loss as a result of their jobs, a workers’ compensation claim could be the solution. Workers’ compensation insurance is often available to pay for a worker’s medical care, time spent unable to work and other costs associated with a job-caused injury.