Treating hearing loss
Hearing aids can improve connection with others, well-being, says UCI Health expert
IN THE NEWS: Dr. Sonia Sehgal, a geriatrician with UCI Health Senior Health Services, says that hearing loss is not an inevitability of aging. Everyone’s risk for it is different.
Regardless of age, it’s important to seek help when signs of hearing loss start to appear, she tells U.S. News & World Report.
“I encourage people with hearing loss to strongly consider hearing aids. People with untreated hearing impairment often slowly start to limit social interactions, which are so important to well-being."
Often, others might notice the change first.
“In my experience, it is most often the loved one alerting the patient and us of the need for an evaluation. That’s because loved ones may be privy to signs of hearing loss that are easier to overlook in oneself."
Seghal emphasizes the importance of medical tests that can determine whether a hearing aid is recommended. If it is, there are many options and to avoid outdated stereotypes that affect a person’s decision to support their ability to hear.
Sehgal is a board-certified UCI Health internist who specializes in the care and treatment of older adults. Her clinical interests include healthy aging, hypertension, osteoporosis, preventive medicine and elder abuse. As a clinical professor at the UC Irvine School of Medicine, she is leading the expansion of the geriatrics program and its workforce development efforts.
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,461-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Health — Orange, its flagship hospital, the UCI Health — Irvine acute care hospital and medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and a network of ambulatory care centers across the region. UCI Health — Orange provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to the only Orange County-based National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).