It's not unusual...
 Keeping in touch...

Hearing is a really important part of out lives, but something most of us probably take for granted.  And yet it's not too difficult to imagine how much poorer life would be if we were unable to participate easily in conversations with family and friends, if we had to work hard to understand the TV properly or even started to avoid socialising because we can't hear what's going on around us.  These are the daily realities of living with even a mild degree of hearing loss.

Deterioration of hearing levels can creep up on us gradually over a long period of time, and the initial signs can be very subtle.  That's why it's important to have your hearing checked - especially if you're over 60.

The facts
Hearing loss is much more common than most people imagine.  Around 11 million people in the UK are affected - that's one in six of the population.  It's estimated that by 2035, this figure will have increased to 15.6 million, or one out of every five people.  More than 40% of people over the age of 50 have some degree of hearing loss, rising to 71% of those over 70 and 93% of over-80s.
Left untreated, hearing loss often causes sufferers to withdraw from interaction with other people, leading to social isolation.  The knock-on effects of this now form a whole new area of research.  It's already well established that individuals with a hearing impairment are up to five times more likely to suffer from depression, and there's an increasing academic interest in hearing loss as a factor in the onset of dementia.

Watch the video on the right to learn more.

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