Thanks to all who have replied to my query . . .
It seems that most everyone is in agreement about explaining a hearing loss
in by the degree of communication difficulty rather than using a pure
percentage figure. A percentage may not necessarly reflect the actual
abilities (i.e., a 62% loss does not mean that a person will miss 62% of
everything.) Life is not that linear.
One respondant did have a good point. People like something that they can
grasp, and percentages offer that. I think this explains why people tend
to remember the percent that someone told them 10 years ago, but don't
remember what they were told after last year's test. :-)
The general concensus is to use our knowledge of speech and environmental
sounds to accurately interpret how each individual's hearing loss will
impact their lifestyle.
I agree. As I mentioned, it seems that the majority of the people who
mention percentages, heard it from their physician. The majority of the
ENT's I have contact with do not use percentages. However, there are a few.
Is it our responsibility to attempt to educate them? Do we wait until we
see their patients and educate them? (Knowing the obstacles to the first
one, I think most of us opt for the second.)
Again, thanks to all who replied.
