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- In our culture, hearing loss has been viewed as something of a stigma.
Part of the reason few people with hearing loss get help is that we simply
don’t talk about it. It’s a sign of advancing age. Yet, like impaired
vision, it is one of the most common health problems in Egypt as well
as worldwide.
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Unlike impaired vision, hearing loss is often made fun
of. People with hearing loss often have to deal with the perception that
their intelligence or grasp on reality is unsound, simply because they
don’t hear something correctly.
Hearing
loss facts:
- Hearing loss is second only to arthritis as the most common complaint
of older adults
More than a third of all hearing loss is attributed to
noise: loud music,
loud workplaces, loud recreational equipment
- Noise above 80-90 decibels on average over an 8-hour workday is considered
hazardous
- Firearms, music, airplanes, lawnmowers, power tools and many appliances
are louder than 80 decibels and potentially hazardous to hearing with prolonged
exposure
- A typical Egyptian live wedding-party concert produces sounds from 110 to 120 decibels—easily
high enough to cause permanent damage to hearing over a 2- to 3-hour period
- Thanks to the above, we’re all losing our hearing at a younger age
than we were 30 years ago
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