Hearing impairment affects approximately 10% of the population. Although people of all ages can be affected, the majority of people with impaired hearing are over 50, and their hearing loss is related to ageing. As a rule, the deterioration of one’s hearing ability is not painful and occurs gradually, and is therefore not always noticeable to the person affected, or not taken seriously.

In this section you will gain a deeper understanding of hearing, hearing impairment and related issues.

Our ears act like radar, which registers acoustic signals coming from multiple directions. The intricate biological structure of the ear allows it to process the signals, and transfer them to the brain, where we interpret the signals in order to understand our acoustic environment.

For example, if a truck is approaching a person, the ear nearest the truck will receive the sound of the truck's engine first, and at a higher volume than the other ear. The brain uses these differing signal receipts to identify the sound as a truck's engine, and to accurately identify the direction from which the truck is approaching, and how far away it is from the person.

Why are two normally functioning ears better than one?

• To be able to determine where a sound is coming from.
• To be able to isolate sound, such as conversation, in a noisy environment, such as a restaurant.
• A better understanding of the environment - a "richer" sound quality.

Statistics indicate that one out of seven individuals experience hearing difficulties, and one out of ten need hearing instruments.

The degree of hearing loss varies from person to person

There are many degrees between the two extremes of hearing well and not being able to hear at all. The terms used to describe degrees of hearing loss are mild, moderate, severe and profound hearing impairment. Most hearing loss is mild to moderate.

What does the degree of hearing loss mean?

• Mild hearing loss: unable to hear soft sounds, difficulty understanding speech clearly in noisy environments.
• Moderate hearing loss: unable to hear soft and moderately loud sounds, considerable difficulty understanding speech in everyday situations, particularly with background noise, such as in a restaurant.
• Severe hearing loss: some loud sounds are audible but communication without a hearing instrument is impossible.
• Profound hearing loss: some extremely loud sounds are audible but communication without a hearing instrument is impossible.