Obviously, we are subject to more and more noise pollution. With the result that we too often neglect our ears, forgetting that our hearing is, for many, an integral part of our life. Yes, it allows us to communicate with others and therefore to integrate ourselves into society …
Covid 19, the hearing crisis
Even if the context of Covid-19 (curfew, teleworking, etc.) generates less exposure to outside noise, this is not necessarily beneficial for our hearing. Quite the contrary. Indeed, teleworking pushes many of us to use headsets, headsets and headphones. In addition, patient care has been delayed. Indeed, since the start of the health crisis, 12% of French people have reported their hearing assessment to an ENT doctor. Are the French aware of the impact of this new way of life on their hearing health? Do they care about their hearing? These questions were at the center of the press conference given on the occasion of the 24th national hearing day, on March 11, 2021.
Unveiled on this occasion, a study ofFrench Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop) carried out by Romain Bendavid notes that the Covid-19 causes such concern that it would relay hearing to the 5th place of the issues that most worry the French. She was in 2nd place last year. Likewise, many French people do not make the link between a health crisis and the need to learn about hearing, apart from individuals working from home, whose search for information on hearing has increased from the start. of the pandemic. Thus, 87% of French people answered “ non ” at the question ” does the health crisis reinforce your desire to learn about hearing? ».
However, it is well known that prolonged listening through headphones or earphones can cause hearing deterioration, especially above a certain volume level. Indeed, according to Jean-Luc Puel, president of the association Journée Nationale de l’Audition (JNA) and director of the Institute of Neuroscience of Montpellier, “ our ears are not made to receive so many different sounds, they are alarm systems intended to defend, flee or attack but not permanently ‘. He therefore recommends not listening for more than 8 hours to a sound of more than 80 decibels (equivalent to a street with heavy traffic, according to the association fruit parif) or for more than 2 hours a sound of more than 86 decibels, in order to avoid an increase in the hearing threshold (threshold beyond which hearing can be damaged).
–
Read also I: Headphones dangerous for some patients
In addition, according to the study by Romain Bendavid, for 81% of French people the sanitary mask worsens listening difficulties. In addition to being a viral barrier, it is also one for hearing. Indeed, it would complicate comprehension, in particular for the hearing impaired, preventing them from reading lips. A transparent mask has been developed, but its use faces several constraints. First of all, the effectiveness of this mask is limited by the appearance of mist, thus preventing the wearer from seeing the lips. Second, costing between 10.90 and 15 euros in France, it is much more expensive than a “classic” mask. According to the website of Service Public, a surgical mask costs on average 95 cents and a fabric mask between 2 and 3 euros (ie a user cost ranging from 10 to 30 cents).
Hearing at the heart of social and generational inequalities
The price of the mask is not the only factor of social divide, the health crisis would generally worsen socio-auditory inequalities. Since the start of the health crisis, 39% of French people have observed an increase in their daily listening time, the most affected would be the youngest (15-24 years), the working class and teleworkers. According to Romain Bendavid, 39% of the population would have noticed the appearance of discomfort or otic disorders (relating to the ear) following the use of headphones and earphones, of which 50% would be less than 35 years. In addition, many would set the sound of these devices above 50% of the sound volume.
Percentage of people tuning the sound of their headphones between 0 and 100%
© Romain Bendavid, French Institute of Public Opinion
The question of the fragility of young people faced with the question of their hearing health was put forward by Nicolas Dauman, lecturer in clinical psychopathology. The president of France Tinnitus, Jacques Foenkinos, told him about his hearing loss prevention day in a first class: five high school students out of fifteen said they had tinnitus, the noises that we hear in one ear (or two) or in his head without having been emitted by an external source; none of them declared having consulted a specialist.
High school students would testify spending long days with headphones or earphones, sometimes even without a break. However, no hearing screening is set up within the school concerned, whereas as Jacques Foenkinos points out, this can make it possible to detect diseases such as hyperacusis (a rare disorder of the sense of hearing, characterized by a perception exacerbated sounds). Without this screening, behaviors resulting from hyperacusis can be confused with characteristics specific to individuals affected by certain forms of autism.
In addition, beyond high school students, 59% of French people have never had a complete hearing assessment at their ENT, or more than one in two French people. According to Frédéric Venail, ENT and maxillofacial surgeon, “ hearing screening depends on the sound environment, beyond the age of 45 screening every 3-4 years would be recommended “. According to Jean-Luc Puel, we are facing a social divide, the working classes are the most poorly informed and the most poorly supported, held back by the price of hearing aids and consultations with the doctor (for example, ENT and hearing aid professionals, specialists in hearing aids and hearing aids). Added to this is the geographical divide: in fact in certain areas (rural for example) the presence of ENT doctors or general practitioners is becoming increasingly rare, as JNA spokesperson Sébastien Leroy reminds us.
Another problem is that of the lack of information, according to Romain Bendavid: “ Only 51% of French people have heard of the hearing aid reimbursement scheme “. Yet this device does exist, in fact, according to the website of theHealth Insurance Ameli : “If you suffer from a hearing loss, the Health Insurance reimburses you, on medical prescription, for your hearing aids (also called” hearing aids “) and their accessories. Support depends on your age and disability ».
When hearing becomes a marker of social isolation
Social isolation via auditory compartmentalization (headphones, headphones, etc.) is also a major problem. Indeed, André Chays, professor of ENT at the UFR of medicine in Reims, explained that hearing isolation via headphones is a means of escaping social constraints. This was confirmed by the testimony collected by Jacques Foenkinos, during his hearing loss prevention day, one of the high school students having confessed that “when I take off my headphones I get stressed. I don’t know how to put my ears in silence“. The psychologist Nicolas Dauman, explains that this phenomenon is a way for young people to choose what they want to listen to (and not to listen …), not to be imposed an unselected sound environment. This practice, which consists of wearing headphones and helmets to isolate oneself socially also results in an increase in consultations for hearing problems, especially among young people.
In addition, the hearing impaired are also isolated, but this time it is not by choice. Indeed, hearing impairments can cause those affected to lose their place in society. Communication is the tool that allows us to bond with others and it often happens through language. According to hearing-impaired testimonials groups, being hard of hearing increases the risk of not being respected. According to Nicolas Dauman, “It is a handicap which will vary according to the interlocutors. Some will be very good communicators, others worse. There is always a suspicion about hearing impairment, which is very heavy for people with hearing loss. I come back to this expression ‘you hear what you want’. There is a lag of experiences, when we are well hearing, we do not realize the complexity! We often think of selective hearing, yet it happens to hear well at certain times and not at others … “. Suggesting that an individual with hearing loss chooses what they want to hear or not can hurt their dignity.
Understand and adapt to the hearing impaired, prevent and detect hearing problems, vary our listening modes (speaker, earpiece, Bluetooth, etc.), use headphones with noise reduction and change the vision of ear devices (often considered as markers of old age) … It is indeed a busy program that the JNA evoked for its 24th editing. The association also aims to raise awareness by launching the solidarity challenge “a day without headphones”. What remind us that if speech is silver, silence is golden.
–
