Jim Cudo and his granddaughter no longer have a problem communicating

“Honey, I can’t hear you.” Five of the hardest words Jim Cudo ever had to speak. Deep down he had known for years about his hearing loss, but when he had to tell his 10-year-old granddaughter he couldn’t hear her words, he knew it was time to take action.

Jim is not alone. A new study from Applied Research shows older Americans are in denial about their hearing loss and the associated social costs. Applied surveyed 250 older Americans aged 50 to 75 as well as 250 adults who had parents in that same age bracket. What they found may surprise you.

Denial
When asked about their hearing, 72 percent of older Americans say their hearing is average or better. Not so, say their children, most of whom report having suggested their parents get their hearing tested (70 percent have prodded their father and 64 percent their mother). Clearly, older Americans are in denial about their hearing loss. “It is something I should have taken care of years ago and didn’t. It was a choice that was wrong on my part,” says Cudo.

Jim’s wife, Linda, adds “His hearing was not what it should have been for the past six or seven years. Of course, you always find an excuse for it. Maybe he wasn’t paying attention to me or perhaps he was in a different room. Sometimes it’s easier to make an excuse than to really look at what the real cause is.”

Stigma
With the negative impact of hearing loss so high, why do people avoid the solution? Cost is a major factor, but pride is often mentioned. One third fear that wearing a hearing aid will “look awkward” and 29 percent say it will “make them look old.”

“You look at other people with hearing aids and say, ‘I’m not going to wear that,’” says Jim. “It was a man thing.” Linda agrees, adding “We’re all a little bit vain. We don’t want everybody to see that we have hearing aids.”

Not Your Grandfather’s Hearing Aid
The social cost of hearing loss is devastating for older