Consequences of untreated hearing loss

"The literature and this study clearly demonstrate that hearing loss is associated with a lack of physical, emotional, social and mental well-being. Depression, anxiety, emotional instability, phobias, withdrawal, isolation, lessened health status, and lessened self-esteem are not just “quality of life” issues. For many people, uncorrected hearing loss is a serious “life or death” issue."
Dr. Sergei Kotchkin, Executive Director, Better Hearing Institute

Consequences of untreated hearing loss

• Irritability, negativism, depression and anger
• Avoidance or withdrawal from social situations
• Social rejection and loneliness
• Reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety
• Impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks
• Reduced job performance and earning power
• Diminished psychological and overall health

Ludwig Van Beethoven—speaking about the effects of his hearing loss

"Forgive me when you see me draw back when I would have gladly mingled with you. My misfortune is doubly painful to me because I am bound to be misunderstood; for me there can be no relaxation with my fellow men, no refined conversations,
no mutual exchange of ideas.

I must live almost alone, like one who has been banished; I can mix with society only as much as true necessity demands. If I approach near to people a hot terror seizes upon me, and I fear being exposed to the danger that my condition might be noticed."

Helen Keller

"I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus-- the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man."

"Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people."