Imagine a night at the theatre or cinema, a group meeting, a restaurant dinner, without being able to hear. Imagine if you had to ask aloud speaker to repeat something for the third time. Imagine that every day you fear losing your job because you do not hear as well as before.

This is what many adult Quebecers who lose their hearing partially or completely, have to live with every day. Some people lose their hearing within a very short period of time (from accidents, medical treatment, illnesses, etc.), while for other it is a progressive process that can take 20, 30 or 40 years. Some diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, or Ménier's disease, can contribute to the progressive loss of hearing ability. Hearing deteriorates from year to year, and the person has to adjust to it. One of the most common causes of progressive hearing loss is work related noise exposure and "presbycusis" (hearing loss associated with old age). However, young people can also be affected. Unfortunately, it is only when the person has already lost a lot of hearing that they consult a specialist.

The ability to hearing well depends on environmental conditions. For example, an individual with a hearing loss may have no trouble keeping up a one-to-one conversation in a quiet place, but be incapable of participating in a conversation while riding a bus. Whatever the cause of the hearing loss, may be the consequence is always the same : isolation.

There is no treatment, unfortunately for the most cases. There are however many options that can help an individual with a hearing loss to avoid the isolation. A hearing impaired person, along with the people close to him/her can develop new ways of communicating. In addition to lip reading and listening techniques, other communication strategies should be considered : how can a hearing impared person let his listener know that he has hearing problems? What does he do when he still doesn't understand even after the message has been repeated three times? Depending on the severity of the hearing loss, there are supplementary aids which can be adopted to the workplace. While the technology of hearing aids or telephone amplifies is not miraculous, it can help to minimize the handicap of hearing loss. Talk to your audiologist, the specialist in hearing disorders.