Donna M. Stewart,M.A.,Aud(C), RAUDRHIP, Audiologist and Owner, Hear Inc.
The perfect retirement means something different to each of us. The dream might be golfing a different course every day of the week, traveling the continents in search of the perfect beach, making the world a better place by volunteering with a service club, or spending more time with the grandkids (locking in that promise to visit you when you when you’re ‘in the home’). Regardless of the dream, the common underlying hope is good health and financial stability well into your retirement years.
Recently there has been a lot of talk about the importance of treating hearing loss early to aid in retaining cognitive health, and research continues to support those claims. But did you know that treating hearing loss can also help retain a healthy bank account?
A study published in Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology (2012;121[12]:771) reported that people with untreated hearing loss had incomes that were on average 25% less than their counterparts with normal hearing. In 2021 Statistics Canada reported hearing loss in 51% of people in their 50’s and 77% of people in their 60’s. Many of those individuals don’t perceive they have a hearing problem – they just find meetings more exhausting and phone calls more frustrating. Getting hearing loss identified and treated early can help you keep your edge, maintain your maximum earning potential and help you retire at the top of your game. Not to mention, going to work every day is way more enjoyable when you can hear the jokes around the water cooler.
Getting your hearing assessed while you’re still working also gives you the opportunity take full advantage of third-party insurance and employer provided extended health benefits. Many benefits packages reimburse at least a portion of audiology services and the purchase of prescribed hearing aids.
We all want to leave work while we still have an edge and move into retirement with cognitive and financial health. Getting a hearing test is a pretty easy thing to check off the Retirement To-Do List. Give us a call at 778-426-4876 and we’ll set you up.