Whether you are unsure if you are suffering from some level of hearing loss or are unaware of how much more advanced today’s hearing aids are, too many people among our workplaces are living with hearing loss which is affecting their performance and apparently the way their bosses see their work. Employee Wellness Month this June is the perfect time to reduce hearing loss discrimination in the workplace, but at the same time help those who may have hearing loss improve it enough to do a better job at the workplace and at home.
According to the EPIC “Listen Hear!” survey, most people don’t realize that hearing aids have come a long way; nor do they realize that hearing aids are eligible expenses for flexible savings accounts FSAs and health savings accounts HSAs. Today’s hearing aids allow the user to hear from all directions, in a variety of sound environments and some even work underwater. These and the other benefits are something our audiologists are happy to discuss with you as well. Some hearing aids are so advanced that they are digital, wireless, can connect directly to your smartphone or television, and can be as discreet or as visible as you like. A new rechargeable feature on some newly designed hearing aids even allows you to recharge your hearing aids every night, so there’s no more need for small batteries.
Until you make the choice to do something about your hearing loss, however, it can affect both an employer and an employee. Research shows that people who are hard of hearing often get passed over for promotions, make mistakes because they don’t hear the instructions right, are afraid to express their really good ideas for fear that they’ll say the wrong thing at the wrong time because they have trouble following conversations. There was one situation where a female employee was even reprimanded for not being a team player because she couldn’t participate in conversations very well – not because she chose to not participate, but because she simply couldn’t follow the conversation well enough to contribute effectively.
Hearing loss can be tempting to keep as a secret for a number of reasons. Some people keep it inside for fear of feeling embarrassed and others are nervous about losing their job. The truth is that untreated hearing loss creates more problems for all parties involved than would action and openness. Employee wellness is important to employers. We encourage you to discuss this and your other concerns with one of our experienced audiologists and learn how our hearing services could have you feeling more confident and hearing better in the workplace and in life in general.
