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How to Advocate for Hearing Loss Sufferers

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Hey,

I had a chat with a guy who had some hearing loss. He said: “he won’t consider wearing hearing aids because he’s afraid he might lose his job”. He also emphasized that “appearance is so important in this job, he works as a tour guide”. I believe he wouldn’t think the same of wearing glasses!

This chat made me think that I want to talk more and more about hearing loss and hearing aids. I want more people to know about it. It shouldn’t be weird to wear hearing aids. I hope there’s a way to reduce the stigma regarding it.

First of all, I need to ensure that I can do it, and I want to do it right.
Secondly, I have no clue how, where and when I can start. I’m in Egypt so things are not done as smoothly as in other countries.
For instance, I tried to look up data of how many people wear hearing aids in Egypt and I found nothing.

Do you have any tips on that?
How can I educate myself more and be ready to answer hearing-loss-related questions? Where can I start? etc

Thank you!

5 people in this conversation3 min readJump to latest

Try Chat Gpt or Deepseek. Check what answers are provided.

I applaud your efforts! I might suggest to tweak your title a bit a to say “advocate for treating hearing loss” or maybe “advocate for hearing loss sufferers,” I hope that doesn’t sound pedantic. That’s not my goal. It sounds pedantic, doesn’t it?

It’s a shame that the tour guide fears losing his job because of treating a medical condition. I wish the world didn’t work this way.

I don’t hide the fact that I have hearing aids, and I’m always willing to share my positive experiences. I remember the first time I left the audiologist’s office after getting hearing aids, and noticing birds chirping. Were those birds there then when I’d arrived?

I remember returning to the audiologist’s office for my first check up, and the read the data out of my hearing aids, and said, “Wow! you wear these 16 hours a day,” which made we wonder if some folks didn’t.

Being able to quote statistics would certainly be helpful, but I find relating personal experiences also helps. There are plenty of stories on this forum of folks who’ve been helped by hearing aids. I bookmark a few of these for sharing. This won’t be hard data, but anecdotes might help convince a sufferer to seek help.

Best wishes,
Bill

He should get a hearing test and if he has mild hearing loss then there are small aids that fit in the ear canal and people would not notice that he’s wearing aids.

Great that you want to help fight the stigma! I am proud to wear my hearing aids - for me it says I am being proactive about my health and care about what others say enough to want to be sure I hear it. I volunteer information about what it is like to benefit from them. I also mention that wearing them if you need them can help keep the brain more sharp. I bet many of the people in his tours could benefit from hearing aids!

Some stats here: Quick Statistics About Hearing, Balance, & Dizziness | NIDCD1

In reply to @bpeckham

@bpeckham said:

It sounds pedantic, doesn’t it?

Not at all. I welcome every note and comment that can improve the way I advocate for hearing loss sufferers. :)))

@bpeckham said:

There are plenty of stories on this forum of folks who’ve been helped by hearing aids. I bookmark a few of these for sharing.

Please feel free to share any story you think it might help!

@bpeckham said:

“Wow! you wear these 16 hours a day,”

I must admit that I don’t wear my hearing aids that long! I don’t wear them when I sleep (for 7-8 hours), spend an hour or longer in bed solving Sudoku, and have a shower or do my hair.

@Zeeza said:

Please feel free to share any story you think it might help!

This story from @Skywatcher is one of my favorites:

One year in - hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are active this morning, fueling up in preparation for the coming migration. Fighting with each other as they do, chatting, squeaking. One year ago I could not hear them. At all. Nor most other birds, nor my squeaking floors, nor much of what was being said to me and around me. I didn’t know what I was missing. It’s been a year with my first aids, Phillips 9050. They put me back into the world I didn’t know I had left. Glad I did it, wish I had seen the light years before, and pr…

I know I’ve seen others. I’ll try to remember to come back here and update as I find more.

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