Calling All Baby Boomers
By Rhonda Kerlew, RN, BscN, MBA
You are currently the largest population in North America, 85 million strong. You are the generation that is still working to fulfill your goals and dreams. You have experience, education, and both buying and political power. And you are putting all that life at risk. That edge, that level of sophistication and strength you have spent so many years developing is a luxury taken for granted. You know your weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. You have your eyes tested regularly. You may have apps on your iPad and smartphone that let you know your calories in versus your calories out.
So, what am I missing you ask? Hearing loss! Hearing loss is not just your parents’ deficit. Hearing loss can put you at a major disadvantage, if you have not yet retired, its repercussions can be felt all the way from the boardroom to your living room. A perfectly healthy life can deteriorate significantly; insidiously and over time that change can gnaw at your self-confidence and make you appear much more aged than you are.
Research shows hearing loss can cause depression, isolation and has been linked to dementia. Furthermore, as your unchecked hearing loss deteriorates your brain becomes accustom to its new decreased level of function and the change can be permanent. This, like many health challenges today, can be easily managed. The first step is in the knowing. An annual hearing test is a preventative, smart and savvy way to care for yourself and your loved ones.
Make no mistake here, your loved ones suffer immensely; they end up in the centre of your deterioration, they become increasingly annoyed with the loud assault of the television volume, along with the incessant need to repeat themselves.
Baby boomers have been one of the highest goal oriented, research driven, and knowledge seeking groups in history. Allowing hearing loss to grab hold of you is akin to taking your place in a rocking chair on the front porch. It’s a risk you can simply avoid. Keep what you have earned, stay as healthy as you can and include an annual hearing test to your health regime.
Rhonda Kerlew is the Director of Business Development at Hearing Solutions.
