World Hearing Day is held on the 3rd of March each year to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss, and to promote ear and hearing care across the world.
This year NCNS partnered with Hearing Australia to conduct hearing checks on the ladies from our Make Time Women’s Group to support and encourage healthy ears.
Hearing Australia ‘are the nation’s largest provider of government-funded hearing services for children, young adults under 26, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, pensioners and veterans.’
With the world facing the Covid-19 Pandemic, hearing is more important than ever, with many people unable to visit friends and families, interstate or overseas, so many of us are now connecting via phone and video.
Hearing loss can make it difficult to hear your speech. The 2 most common causes of hearing loss are age and exposure to loud noise.
Hearing Australia states signs of hearing loss include:
– Asking people to repeat themselves
– Your family complaining the TV Volume is up too loud
– Ringing buzzing sound in your ears
– Straining to hear
– Missing out on every day sounds
10 women from our Make Time Women’s Group had their hearing checked with Sara from Hearing Australia. The test conducted was an initial hearing test that identified whether the ladies were hearing all the sounds played in the normal hearing range.
If they were able to hear all of these sounds, it was a great result and they were told to come back in 12 months to be tested again. If they were unable to hear all of the sounds, they would be advised to go in to Hearing Australia for a full hearing assessment with one of their audiologist to run a more extensive test in all areas of the hearing range.
Hearing loss can sometimes be hard to detect as it happens gradually over time. Hearing Australia states that, ‘The average Australian takes 7 years to get their hearing tested’ and ‘14.5% of the population currently experience hearing loss.
It is twice as likely to have hearing loss if you have diabetes and not many people are aware of this. Check out the Diabetes and Hearing Loss flyer for more information about this.
If you suspect a family member, friend or yourself may be suffering from hearing loss, you can try Hearing Australia’s Online Hearing Check which contains a few short questions and a 10 minute audio test.
If you are a pensioner, please contact Sara Garner from Hearing Australia to arrange a free hearing check.
If you would like to have your hearing assessed pleased contacted Sara Gardner to book in an appointment. Her contact details are as follow:
Sara Gardener – Community Hearing Advisor, Campbelltown, Penrith & Springwood
Phone: 02 4720 3400 or 0417 021 328
Email: Sara.gardner@hearing.com.au
Location: Shop 7, 140 Henry Street, Penrith NSW 2750
Source: https://www.hearing.com.au/