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 If it is, there are many options and to avoid outdated stereotypes that affect a person’s decision to support their ability to hear.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 is one of California’s largest academic health systems and the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Established on July 1, 1976, UCI Health has grown into a 1,461-bed health system that includes UCI Health — Orange, UCI Health — Irvine, four Community Network hospitals and a growing network of ambulatory care centers across Orange and Los Angeles counties. As Orange County’s only academic health systems, UCI Health is home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center based in the county, the region’s only American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, American College of Emergency Physicians Gold Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department and a nationally recognized regional burn center verified by the American Burn Association. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people across Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County through excellence in patient care, research and medical education. Follow UCI Health on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.