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Live Well  
Personal hearing recovery program  

  • Early detection 

  • Safety 

  • Protecting remaining hearing

  • Supportive environment options

​Early detection

It is important to detect worsening of hearing loss worsening or hearing-related medical conditions as early as possible - even when you are wearing ATLAS OTC hearing aids for mild-moderate hearing loss

Hearing loss worsening

  • Can't hear speech even if the room is quiet

  • Don't hear loud sounds well, for example loud music, power tools, engines

See an Audiologist or ENT doctor

Red flags

  • Your ear has a birth defect or unusual shape. Your ear was injured or deformed in an accident

  • You saw blood, pus, or fluid coming out of your ear in the past 6 months

  • Your ear feels painful or uncomfortable

  • You have a lot of ear wax, or think something could be in your ear

  • You get really dizzy or have a feeling of spinning or swaying (called vertigo)

  • Your hearing changed suddenly in the past 6 months

  • Your hearing changes: it gets worse then gets better again

  • You have worse hearing in one ear

  • You hear ringing or buzzing in only one ear

See an ENT doctor

Sudden deafness

Rapid loss of hearing either all at once or over a few days. Usually affects only one ear.

Can be due to:

  • Infections

  • Head trauma

  • Autoimmune diseases

  • Exposure to certain drugs that treat cancer or severe infections

  • Blood circulation problems

  • Neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis

  • Disorders of the inner ear, such as Ménière’s disease

See an ENT doctor

Ménière’s disease

Severe dizziness (vertigo), tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness or congestion in the ear. Usually affects only one ear

  • Dizziness may come on suddenly or after a short period of tinnitus or muffled hearing

  • Some may have many dizziness attacks closer together over a few days

  • Some may lose balance and fall - called “drop attacks”

  • Can develop at any age, but it is more likely in those 40 - 60 years old

See an ENT doctor

Otosclerosis

Hearing loss with dizziness, balance problems, or tinnitus

  • Due to abnormal bone growth in middle ear

  • May be inherited; white, middle-aged women are most at risk

See an ENT doctor

Vestibular Schwannoma (Acoustic Neuroma) and Neurofibromatosis

Hearing loss, tinnitus, dizziness/loss of balance. It can also cause facial numbness, facial weakness or paralysis.

  • Due to benign, slow-growing tumor that develops from the balance and hearing nerves supplying the inner ear

  • If the tumor becomes large, it presses against nearby brain structures and becomes life-threatening

See an ENT doctor

Noise sensitivity (Hyperacusis) happens in a few people

  • Normal sounds appear to be too loud or painful

  • Tendency to avoid all sounds

  • Can be due to loud noise exposure, tinnitus, migraine

 Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), counseling and education can help

One-sided (Unilateral) hearing loss can happen in some people

  • Loss of spatial hearing abilities i.e. the ability to determine the direction of a sound source

  • Lower understanding of speech in noisy environment

ENT consult and hearing aids can help

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​Safety

AT WORK

According to OSHA, meaningful worker participation is needed for workplace safety and health

Wear hearing aids during work

  • Be open about your hearing loss

  • Communicate to others that you wear them

  • Request them to follow good communication practices, as applicable, from Section 3

Do your own job safety analysis

  • Use appropriate hearing protectors when needed

  • List your tasks at work and possible safety hazards

  • Think about what controls would be effective

    • That you can manage - for example wear your hearing aids unless it is very noisy

    • That you need to discuss with manager - for example quieter equipment, change in shifts, taking breaks

  • Be aware of feeling fatigued and take appropriate precautions like avoid driving, handling heavy machinery​

Help build a supportive workplace culture

  • Emergency preparedness

  • Alerting device options

  • Training customized to hearing aid user safety

  • Benefits all workers - with and without hearing loss

AT HOME

Control loud sounds at home  

  • Dispose/replace noisy equipment

  • Check ‘dB’ rating on appliances, tools prior to purchase

  • Service old equipment as these can get noisier with time that you don't notice

  • Control volume of TVs, music systems

  • Install sound barriers around noisy equipment like generators

Protect remaining natural hearing from risks you can control

Mild - moderate hearing loss means that you still have the rest of your natural hearing. You can take steps to protect this remaining hearing. Protect from:

Loud noise

Harm depends on:

  • How loud the sound is

  • How long the ears are exposed to the sound

  • How often the exposure is repeated

  • With hearing aids, very loud sounds will feel uncomfortable or painful

Protect by:

  • Putting distance from the sound

  • Taking breaks from listening to the sound

  • If the sound feels uncomfortable, remove your hearing aids and put on hearing protectors

  • Buy quiet home appliances with dB rating

  • Follow workplace hearing conservation practices

Falls

Harm due to:

  • Injury to the parts of brain responsible for processing sounds

  • Other complications due to the brain injury

Protect by:

  • Wearing hearing aids throughout the day (except when sounds are too loud)

  • Wearing prescription glasses if your eyesight is weak

  • Wearing proper head protection when there is a risk of head injury

  • Wearing seatbelts during driving

  • Exercising for lower body and leg strength

  • Wearing proper footwear when there is risk slips/trips

  • Following workplace fall prevention practices

Ear damage

Harm due to:

  • Unsafe ear wax cleaning practices (using cotton-tipped swabs, hairclips) that can rupture eardrum

  • Using unsafe ear cleaning products

  • Outer ear infections, common in adults

Protect by:

  • Using earwax removal drops that follow FDA monograph

  • Lowering infections caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, allergies, swimming, or minor injuries

  • Vaccinate and treat infections promptly

Ototoxic medicines

Harm due to:

  • Damage to inner ear, auditory nerve, balance system

  • Falls and other accidents due to drowsiness caused by drug

  • Depends on dosing frequency, dose strength, dose length

  • Can be made worse with liver or kidney disease as it takes longer for body to remove drugs

Protect by:

  • Checking your OTC and prescription drugs, dose and how frequently you use them

    • For OTC drugs, limit dosing (for ototoxins) and avoid dosing during the day (for drowsiness)

    • Be cautious about impaired driving due to medication

    • For prescription drugs, consult with your doctor

    • Prevent combining ototoxic drugs with loud noise as the damage can be a lot worse

Ototoxic chemicals

Harm due to:

  • Chemical use at work and outside work 

  • By breathing them in, touching them, consuming contaminated food or drinks, that have been contaminated

  • Depends on dosing frequency, dose strength, dose length

Protect by:

  • Using less toxic chemicals

  • Improving ventilation when using chemicals

  • Knowing how to safely handle chemicals

  • Using appropriate masks, gloves

  • Prevent combining ototoxic chemicals with loud noise as the damage can be a lot worse

  • Following workplace practices for chemical safety

Harmful habits

Harm due to:

  • Smoking and vaping causing damage to inner ear hair cells

  • Excessive drinking causing damage to auditory cortex

Protect by:

  • Build a quit plan (quit date, costs due to habit, reasons to quit, known triggers)

  • Talking to quit coaches via 1-800-QUIT-NOW

  • Talking to your doctor about medications to help manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms and cravings

  •  Find a local meeting center or an online support group

Chronic medical conditions

Harm due to:

  • Poor blood supply (hypertension, other heart disease)

  • Nerve damage (diabetes)

  • Slowing down of body's functions including hearing (hypothyroidism)

Protect by:

Early detection and treatment of these medical conditions

Misleading medical product claims

Statements such as “FDA Registered” and “FDA Certified” and use of an FDA logo can be misleading

  • FDA registration and listing does not denote approval, clearance, or authorization of that facility or its medical devices

  • FDA does not issue any type of device registration certificates to medical device facilities

  • Use of FDA logo by any device manufacturer is unauthorized

  • Any product claiming to act like a drug must be FDA approved

  • OSHA does not review or approve any personal protective equipment (PPE) such as earplugs

  • Use of OSHA logo on safety products is unauthorized​

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​Supportive environment options

Assistive Listening Technologies available to the public

These can offer additional help with listening and communication and can be used with a hearing aid

  • Assistive listening devices (ALDs) help amplify the sounds you want to hear, especially where there’s a lot of background noise, can be used with a hearing aid

  • Alerting devices connect to a doorbell, telephone, or alarm that emits a loud sound or blinking light to alert

  • Real-time captioning or computer-assisted real-time transcription (CART) services and is helpful during meetings

  • Teletypewriter (TTY) is a communication device supporting phone use, with most services being compatible with smartphones

  • TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) is a free service provided by Federal Communications Commission. Dial 711 to be automatically connected to a TRS communications assistant.

ADA requirements

  • Employers with more than 15 employees must provide reasonable accommodations on request, including assistive listening systems for employees with hearing loss

  • Public places like movie theaters, lecture halls and stadiums must provide effective communication for people with hearing loss, such as hearing loops, captioning or a sign language interpreter

  • Health care settings are included as public places that must provide accommodations for people with hearing loss

  • State and local government services, programs or activities including but not limited to schools, health care, courts and voting are required to make “reasonable modifications” when necessary to accommodate people who have disabilities

  • Telecommunications section of the ADA requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure the provision of Telecommunications Relay Services, including wired captioned telephone services (CTS), internet protocol CTS, TTY relay and video relay services

Air travelers with hearing loss have the right to receive the same services and information as travelers without disabilities, as mandated by the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) of 1986. Airlines must ensure access to information at ticketing, the gate, on board and baggage

  • Self-identify as a person with hearing loss at each point in the airport and on the plane

  • You have the right to request preboarding if you cannot hear the gate announcements

  • When you board, ask flight personnel to directly communicate emergency announcements, gate changes, etc.

  • In-flight safety videos are required to be captioned

  • If there is no video, flight attendants should ensure you have access to written materials that share the same information

  • Airlines must permit a service animal to accompany a passenger with a disability

Hearing loss friendly environment

  • Supports you in controlling preventable risks factors (such as noise, smoke, chemicals) to protect remaining hearing

  • You can make others know your condition and best ways to communicate with you

  • You can also help identify and support others with hearing loss​​

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