Washington, DC (PRWEB) May 29, 2010 —

The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) announced today that it is joining the Men’s Health Network (MHN) in promoting National Men’s Health Month and Men’s Health Week in June. Men’s Health Week is celebrated each year during the week leading up to Father’s Day. This year, Men’s Health Week will take place from June 14 through 20. To boost hearing health, BHI is naming attention to its online hearing test, the Across America Hearing Check Challenge (www.hearingcheck.org), where men can quickly measure if they may have a hearing loss and necessitate a more across-the-board hearing check up on by a hearing nonrecreational

In addition, BHI is boosting hearing health professionals to organise hearing screenings in their communities; host health fairs; disseminate men’s health information; and publicize National Men’s Health Month and Men’s Health Week in their practices and communities. A list of National Men’s Week events around the country is at http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/calendar.htm

The purpose of National Men’s Health Month and Men’s Health Week is to heighten awareness of preventable health problems and boost aboriginal detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. This focus on men’s health gives health care providers, common policy makers, the media, and individuals an opportunity to encourage men and boys to look for steady medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury

Six out of 10 people with hearing loss are men. More than 34 million people in the United States have a hearing loss. Hearing loss remains one of the most commonly unaddressed health conditions in the United States today

“Hearing health is an important part of a man’s life,” says Sergei Kochkin, PhD, BHI’s Executive Director. “Not only does it affect his quality of life and well being, but it also affects his relationships and earnings. Unfortunately, most doctors don’t routinely screen or inquire their patients if they have any hearing problems.”

According to a BHI survey, fewer than 15 percent of people who received a physical exam in the last year said they received a hearing screening by their physician or nurse during that exam

Another study found that untreated hearing loss negatively affects household income, on average, by nearly $ 23,000 per year, depending on the degree of loss. Wearing a hearing aid can extenuate the impact on income by about 50 percent

Numerous studies have linked untreated hearing loss to a wide range of physical and emotional conditions, including irritability, negativism, anger, fatigue, tension, stress, depression, avoidance or withdrawal from social situations, social rejection and loneliness, reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety, impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks, reduced job performance and earning power, and diminished psychological and overall health

As part of its outreach campaign, BHI wants men to understand that there are simple things that they can do to protect their hearing before it becomes a problem. Listening to their iPods at no more than 50 percent maximum volume and wearing earplugs while at rock concerts, using power tools, and riding motorcycles are just two examples

Yet, according to Kochkin, up to 95 percent of people with hearing loss can be helped with hearing aids-and their quality of life significantly improved. In fact, a BHI survey of more than 2,300 consumers happened that nine out of ten hearing aid users report improvements in their quality of life as a result of utilizing a hearing aid

Advances in digital technology have dramatically improved hearing aids in recent years, making them smaller with better sound quality. Designs are contemporary, groomed, and restrained. Clarity, greater directionality, better speech audibility in a variety of environments, better cell phone compatibility, less communicating and feedback then hearing aids of the past, and greater ruggedness for about lifestyles are average features

“In today’s busy world, too many men overlook their health,” says Kochkin. “Our participation in National Men’s Health Month and Men’s Health Week is a crucial contribution that BHI can make to better the quality of life for men and their families. We appear forward to raising awareness of how hearing health is tied in to other aspects of a man’s health and how it affects his quality of life and relationships.”

For more information on why healthy hearing is important for men visit www.betterhearing.org.

Founded in 1973, the BHI conducts research and engages in hearing health education with the goal of helping people with hearing loss to benefit from proper treatment

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