When people are at an age where they are still working, their job is often a big part of their self-worth. They base their self-image on what type of job they have, what position they have, and how much they make.

When someone asks “so what do you do?”, what’s the first thing that comes to mind. It most likely has something to do with your job.

People don’t want to have to think about what they’d do if their job was hampered. But there’s a career-breaker out there that should make anybody who loves putting in a good day’s work pay attention.

The troubling link between career success and neglected hearing loss is precisely that career killer.

Unemployment Rate is Higher With Untreated Hearing Loss

Someone with neglected hearing trouble is over 200% more likely to be unemployed or underemployed. If someone isn’t working full time or has marketable capabilities that their not making use of and their not earning as much money as they should be, that’s defined as underemployed.

Those with untreated hearing loss face countless obstacles in almost any occupation. A doctor needs to hear her patients. A construction worker has to hear his co-workers in order to work together on a job. Even a librarian would find it difficult to help library patrons without her hearing.

Many people work their entire lives in one line of work. They become very good at what they do. For them, if they can’t hear well, it would be difficult to switch to a different career and make a respectable living.

The Wage Gap Caused by Hearing Impairment

Along with unemployment, those with hearing loss all have the tendency to suffer a substantial wage gap, making around 75 cents for every dollar somebody with normal hearing earns. Numerous independent studies support this wage gap and show that that gap averages out at about $12,000 lost wages per year.

The degree of hearing loss is closely linked with how much they lose. Even individuals with moderate hearing loss are potentially losing money, according to a study of 80,000 people.

What Are Some on The Job Struggles That People With Hearing Loss Deal With?

Job stress causes a person with hearing loss to take sick days 5 times more often than someone with functional hearing.

From moment to moment, someone with hearing loss experiences stresses that co-workers never recognize. Imagine being in a meeting and straining to hear while everybody else is taking their hearing for granted. Now imagine the stress of missing something important.

That’s even more stressful.

While on or off the job, it’s three times more likely that somebody with untreated hearing loss will suffer from a fall. Your ability to work is impacted.

Somebody with untreated hearing loss is at an increased risk, in addition to job concerns, of the following:

• Social Isolation
• Dementia
• Anxiety
• Paranoia
• Depression

All of this adds up to reduced productivity. People who have hearing loss experience so many difficulties, both at work and in their personal lives, unfortunately being passed over for a promotion is also a very real possibility.

Luckily, this sad career prospect has an upside.

A Career Solution That Works

Studies also reveal that getting hearing loss treated can eliminate the unemployment and the wage gap.

The wage gap can be erased by 90 – 100% for a person with mild hearing loss who wears hearing aids, as revealed by a study carried out by Better Hearing Institute.

Somebody with moderate hearing loss can remove about 77% of the gap. That gets them nearly up to the earning of a person in the same field with normal hearing.

In spite of this positive news, many individuals leave their hearing loss untreated during those working years. They might feel self-conscious about losing their hearing. It makes them feel old.

They may think that hearing aids are just too expensive for them. They probably don’t realize that if hearing loss is left untreated, it progresses more quickly in addition to triggering the other health problems mentioned above.

These studies are even more significant when these common objections are taken into account. Leaving your hearing unaddressed is likely more costly than you realize. It’s time to have a hearing test if you’re trying to determine if you should wear hearing aids at work. Get in touch with us so we can help you make that decision.

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References

https://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/fulltext/2013/02001/Hearing_Loss_Linked_to_Unemployment,_Lower_Income.2.aspx