Today is World Hearing Day and Chime, the national charity for deafness and hearing loss, is seeking to challenge the perceived ‘stigma’ around hearing loss.
Chime has published research which reveals that 59% of those surveyed said that people who develop hearing difficulties delay getting a hearing aid because of the ‘stigma’ associated with them.
Research has also shown that 80% of people who get hearing aids say they have improved their mental wellbeing and social relationships and wish they had got them earlier.
The survey was carried out amongst a sample of the Irish population aged 50 years and older, the age when hearing loss first begins for many people
Approximately 1.4 million people in Ireland fall into this age category.
88% said people are far quicker getting their eyesight tested than their hearing tested.
According to the charity, Ireland has a low uptake of hearing aids compared to other developed countries, dispensing less than half the number of hearing aids compared to the UK per head of population.
The top two barriers were cost and perceived stigma.
Recent changes in grant support have helped to address the first barrier but not the second.
Chime has 11 centres around the country where it offers free advise and support with additional outreach clinics.
