The Better Hearing Institute is raising awareness of the link between hearing loss and certain chronic diseases during National Women’s Health Week. BHI also is urging women to take the online hearing check, Across America Hearing Check Challenge (www.hearingcheck.org), which lets people quickly determine if they need a comprehensive hearing test.

Research shows that people with certain chronic diseases—such as heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and Alzheimer’s disease; as well as depression and emotional health, memory loss and cognitive decline—may all have an increased risk of hearing loss.

National Women’s Health Week is a weeklong health observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. The 13th annual National Women’s Health Week kicks off on Mother’s Day, May 13, and lasts until May 19. National Women’s Checkup Day is Monday, May 14, and May is National Hearing Month.
More than 10 million women in America suffer from unaddressed hearing loss and most are below retirement age.

“Unaddressed hearing loss can negatively affect virtually every aspect of a woman’s life—from her earnings to her relationships to how she communicates with her doctor,” says Sergei Kochkin, PhD, BHI’s Executive Director. “And because hearing loss has been linked to several chronic diseases—as well as to an increased risk of falling—it is important that women and their healthcare providers routinely address hearing health as part of their medical care.”

Last year, fewer than 15 percent of people reported they received a hearing screening by their physician during their health exam, according to a BHI survey.

Content provided by BHI