When people are at an age where they are still working, their job is often a huge part of their self-worth. Their self-image is frequently based on what job they have, their position, and how much they make.
What’s the first thing you think when somebody asks, “So what do you do”? It’s most likely to tell them about your occupation.
It’s not enjoyable to consider what you would do if something took your living away. But there’s a career-buster out there that should make anyone who loves putting in a good day’s work perk up and listen.
The troubling connection between career success and untreated hearing loss is precisely that career killer.
Unemployment Rate is Higher With Untreated Hearing Loss
A person with untreated hearing problems is over 200% more likely to be unemployed or underemployed. Underemployment is generally defined as the condition of employees not earning up to their potential, either because they are not working full time or because the work doesn’t make use of all of their marketable expertise.
Those with neglected hearing loss face many obstacles in almost any line of work. Doctors need to be able to hear their patients. If they’re going to efficiently work together, construction workers have to be able to communicate. Even a librarian would find it hard to assist library patrons without her hearing.
Lots of people stay in the same line of work their entire lives. They become extremely good at what they do. For them, if they can’t hear well, it would be hard to switch to a different career and make a decent living.
The Potential Hearing Loss Wage Gap
Someone with hearing loss earns only around 75 cents to every dollar that someone with normal hearing earns. Numerous independent studies back this wage gap and demonstrate that that gap averages out at about $12,000 lost wages every year.
How much they lose strongly correlates with the severity of the hearing impairment. According to a study conducted on 80,000 individuals, even people with moderate hearing loss are potentially losing money.
What Are Some on The Job Struggles That Individuals With Hearing Loss Experience?
Somebody with neglected hearing loss is 5 times more likely to take a sick day due to job stress.
From moment to moment, someone with hearing loss copes with stresses that co-workers never see. Envision needing to concentrate on hearing and understanding in team meetings while others simply take hearing for granted. Now imagine the anxiety of missing something significant.
That’s even worse.
While at work or at home, it’s three times more likely that someone with untreated hearing loss will have a fall. Both impact your ability to do the work.
Somebody with untreated hearing loss is at an increased risk, in addition to job challenges, of the following:
- Anxiety
- Dementia
- Paranoia
- Depression
- Social Isolation
All of this adds up to reduced productivity. And given the obstacles that someone with hearing loss confronts at work and in life, they may also not be considered for an available promotion.
Luckily, there’s a really bright upside to this dismal career outlook.
A Career Strategy That Works
Studies also reveal that having your hearing loss treated can eliminate the unemployment and the wage gap.
The wage gap can be erased by 90 – 100% for somebody with minor hearing loss who uses hearing aids, as revealed by a study carried out by Better Hearing Institute.
About 77% of that gap can be removed for a person with moderate hearing loss. That’s about the earning level of somebody with normal hearing.
Despite this positive news, many individuals fail to treat their hearing loss during those working years. They may feel embarrassed about losing their hearing. It makes them feel old.
Hearing aids might seem too expensive. They most likely don’t realize that if hearing loss is neglected, it worsens more quickly in addition to causing the other health problems discussed above.
In light of these common objections, these studies hold added significance. Leaving your hearing untreated is likely more costly than you realize. If you’ve been undecided about wearing hearing aids at work, it’s time to get a hearing test. Call us and we can help you figure out whether hearing aids would help.
Call Today to Set Up an Appointment
References
https://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/fulltext/2013/02001/Hearing_Loss_Linked_to_Unemployment,_Lower_Income.2.aspx