Injury, illness, or exposure to loud noise can cause hearing loss in adults. The loss may occur suddenly or so gradually that it goes unnoticed until it is quite severe. Many adults react to hearing loss by withdrawing from activities they previously enjoyed, needlessly resigning themselves to less productive lives. Most adults with hearing loss can benefit from today's increasingly sophisticated hearing aid technology. Other assistive devices can keep people with hearing loss involved and active.
Rehabilitation can help people learn new ways to communicate more effectively.
The Professionals Who Treat Communication Disorders Audiologists are the professionals who diagnose and treat hearing disorders. They provide counseling and rehabilitation services to people who have hearing loss. Services include dispensing hearing aids and other assistive listening devices. Speech-language pathologists are the professionals who diagnose and treat speech, language, and related disorders. They teach people coping strategies and provide treatment to eliminate or minimize speech, language, and related problems.