Submitted by Ascent Audiology
A common misconception is that people who have hearing loss are old. However, the average age of people who have hearing loss is dropping. Ten years ago, half of people with hearing loss were over 65 years of age. And now, 1 in every 14 “Generation X’ers” (ages 29-40) already has a hearing loss.
Paulina Hernandez has hearing loss in her right ear. Her hearing loss started when she was 16 years old. Paulina had chronic ear infections during childhood and developed a non-healing perforation in her right ear. The trauma of the infections caused damage to the bones in her middle ear space. She received years of medical care and two surgeries (tympanoplasties) to repair the damage, but none were successful enough to return her hearing ability to normal.
When Paulina was 20 years old she received her first hearing aid. She felt apprehensive about wearing a hearing aid at such a young age, but the improvement in her hearing was well worth it! When wearing her hearing aid, Paulina feels much more confident about her ability to work in a busy office environment. She can hear her coworkers when they are behind her and she finds that she can mulit-task much better because she does not have to concentrate so closely on speech.
“The day I received my first hearing aid was an emotional one,” Paulina remembers. “I wanted to hear better but I was scared about how others would react to seeing my hearing aid. I was excited but very nervous about wearing an object on my body and feeling old. When the hearing aid was turned on for the first time, and I could hear speech from behind me, I quickly realized that getting a hearing aid was going to allow me to be myself; I wasn’t going to be limited by my hearing loss any longer.”
Paulina reports that she does not feel old, she feels like herself; she does not have to worry about her hearing loss preventing her from living her life. “I want people to know that getting a hearing aid at a young age was the best decision I could have made for myself. I feel like wearing a hearing aid has opened doors for me.”
Paulina is the receptionist at Ascent Audiology & Hearing. She feels that having hearing loss and wearing a hearing aid gives her an advantage when connecting with patients. “I can relate to patients that are dealing with hearing loss issues for the first time. I can empathize with our patients because I have had similar feelings about dealing with my own hearing loss.”
A native of Mexico, Paulina moved to Washington in 2002 and now considers Olympia to be her home. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations at St. Martins University in 2009. She hopes to continue her studies in international development and obtain a master’s degree in the near future.
