Hearing loss, is it a volume problem?

Anyone who is not familiar with hearing loss assumes that it is like turning the volume on a radio lower and lower until,you have difficulty understanding the words, or cannot hear at all.
Hearing loss is far more subtle than that.
A person with hearing loss usually has a different amount of loss at each frequency across a range of hearing. For example, a person may have normal hearing in the lower frequencies,  a moderate hearing loss in the middle frequencies and a severe loss in the high frequencies.
In relation to hearing aids,and in order to understand speech better, the person wants the low frequencies unchanged,the middle frequencies a little louder, and the high frequencies very loud.
Increasing the volume of the radio makes all the frequencies louder. The volume is so loud in the lower frequencies,where the hearing is normal, that it becomes intolerable. Louder does not mean clearer in relation to frequencies unless the frequencies are properly balanced.

Can a hearing aid help a profoundly deaf person?

A profoundly deaf person does not rely on hearing for communication. The hearing aid cannot compensate for the level of hearing impairment. A hearing aid maintains contact with the hearing environment and allows the patient an awareness of what is going on around them, using auditory clues.

How Does It Feel Not To Hear Properly?

What Hearing Loss Really Means

1. Hearing Facts. Explain that when people cannot hear facts well and often have to ask people to repeat themselves, it is not only frustrating to the person with the hearing loss, but to the other person as well. The other person often wonders if there might be a mental problem, before considering that it might be a hearing problem. This consideration alone can represent a strong motivation to purchase hearing aids.

2. Understanding Meaning and Intention. Understanding the meaning behind a person’s words and understanding their intentions are critically important in many conversations. The person with a hearing loss must understand how this capability deteriorates as hearing gets worse.

3. Feelings and Emotions. Hearing loss makes it much more difficult for the patient to understand the feelings and emotions behind spoken words. This is particularly important to family and friends. The more familiar the relationship, the more important subtle intonation and inflection are. When meaning and emotions are not accurately understood due to hearing loss, misunderstandings lead to frustration and disappointment. This is one of the main reasons why families are often the driving force in visits to the hearing aid office.

4. Alerts and Warnings. Personal and family safety can be jeopardized in an instant by poor hearing. The inability to recognize the nature, seriousness, and direction from which a warning or threat comes is very serious. There is a point at which disregarding this concern becomes irresponsible.This can be overcome with modern technology.

5. Sounds of Nature. Hearing the sound of the wind in the trees, birds chirping, and rain on the roof are important parts of feeling part of a living world. As hearing deteriorates, an inevitable feeling of isolation closes in. Though this is experienced most prevalently in advanced hearing loss, it is one of the most unfortunate consequences of the situation getting worse.

6. Music. For many people with hearing loss, music sounds off key or distorted compared to when it was originally heard. Music plays an important part in some of our favorite memories. Hearing loss often makes sharing these memories stilted and uncomfortable.

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