"They pretend they can hear; they make excuses to why they can't hear," McCarry says. "To them it may be the way people speak, the background noise, or anything, except themselves."

A hearing test can help an audiologist diagnose the type and determine the extent of your hearing loss. But the signs are usually there before a person steps into an audiologist's office.

Some of the signs to look out for are:

"You often ask people to repeat what they said.

"Your friends and relatives tell you that you don't hear very well.

"You often increase and decrease the volume of your TV or radio alternately (you increase the volume because you can't hear but find it too loud after some time).

"Others say you talk unusually loud (sensorineural hearing loss) or soft (conductive hearing loss).

A more detailed list of signs to look out for can be found at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website (www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders).

Managing hearing loss

While conductive hearing loss can generally be corrected with the removal of ear wax plugs, surgery, or antibiotics to treat middle ear infection, sensorineural hearing loss is often irreversible.

This is where hearing aids play their role.

No one is too young or too old to seek help for their hearing loss. "Whether you are 80-years-old or 18, your interaction with other people is just as important," says McCarry.

Available in various shapes and sizes, hearing aids come in five types depending on where they fit in your ear. The behind-the-ear type looks like a bluetooth device shaped like a curved shell that fits snugly on the back of the ear. A clear tube fitted into a mould that is customised to fit comfortably into your ear sends the sound signals from the device.

Both in-the-ear and in-the-canal types fit in the ear like ear plugs that are visible from the outside but in-the-canal types fit in the ear further inside the ear canal.

Completely-in-the-canal hearing aids are virtually invisible on the outside as it fits completely in the ear canal.

The latest made available is the receiver-in-the-ear (RIE) type which looks like a miniaturised behind-the-ear device. Its design is based on the open fitting concept where the clear tube which sends the sound signals is very thin and the customised mould is replaced with a tiny, soft dome placed inside the ear.

Every device has its strengths and weaknesses, but essentially, smaller and more sophisticated devices costs more.

Prices of hearing aids in Malaysia range from around RM800 (S$340) for simple devices up to around RM13,000 (S$5,500) for the most sophisticated.

McCarry explains that some people hold off hearing aids because they feel old when they are wearing it - until the problem becomes so bad, they cannot manage it any more. By then, they will need more help with their hearing - which means more powerful and sophisticated hearing aids.

However, with a wider scope of technology, audiologists today are able to deal with a wider range of hearing problems more effectively.

"Of course like anything else, the more of (the sound you hear) is artificial, the less close it is to reality," McCarry says.

While hearing aids do help in improving the ability to hear in PHL, they do not substitute for normal, healthy hearing.

But programming and fitting a person with a hearing aid is by far the easiest part in the rehabilitation of those with hearing problems.

The more difficult part is, to McCarry, getting the hearing aid to interphase correctly with the person wearing it, and to solve their problems.

The hearing loss is not a problem, says McCarry, it's the frustration, the isolation and the difficulties caused by the hearing loss that is the problem.

"Treating hearing loss is just the means to an end," he says. "Because (as audiologists) we must really try to understand how the hearing loss impacts our clients' lives."

This involves going through a thorough communication process with the client to find out about their lifestyles, their relationships with people and also, how they feel about their hearing loss.

Hearing aids can then be prescribed according to their individual hearing needs, their ability to use the device (dexterity, cognitive function) and of course, their personal preference.

There are also assistive devices such as FM receivers to help PHL hear speakers from a distance, and hearing aids that have bluetooth function programmed into them to help them communicate on telephones.

"Sometimes people get obsessed with technology," McCarry says. "The technology is important, but at the end of the day, the basics are still human beings interacting with each other and that's what we are trying to obtain.

"We are improving people's quality of life by improving, or restoring in some cases their ability to communicate."

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This story was first published in The Star.

The Star/Asia News Network