Although people often associate hearing loss with the aging process, prolonged exposure to loud noise is a far more common cause of the condition. In America, around one in six Baby Boomers have hearing loss. There are actually more people aged 45 to 64 with hearing loss than those over 65… and the reality is that more people are losing their hearing earlier in life.

Baby boomers are likely candidates for noise-induced hearing loss, particularly the kind that results from continuous loud noise over an extended period of time (like a 115-decibel rock concert). Factory noise, home power tools, lawn mowers, or the roar of construction sites are also be to blame.

“They’re the first of that rock ’n’ roll and DIY generation,” said Shawn Parker from HEARINGLife, “the first to really grow up with loud music, personal stereo systems and ready access to power tools.”

The realization that hearing is no longer sharp can provoke feelings of anxiety about age. Ironically, many people worry that wearing hearing aids will lead to them to being perceived as old. However, the symptoms of hearing loss — mishearing people, frustration, feelings of isolation and withdrawing from difficult situations — are more likely to promote the perceptions of others that someone is ‘old’.

This reluctance has motivated hearing aid manufacturers to develop devices to attract age-phobic, style-conscious Boomers. For example, Sonic Innovations have just released the virtually invisible ion400.

“Whenever I’ve referred to my hearing aids, people say to me, ‘Oh, are you actually wearing hearing aids?’”, explains Owen Jacobsen.

Powerful and providing a sound quality previously unheard, it is also fully-automatic. The ion400 instantly adjusts to changing hearing environments to provide the best possible hearing outcome. So wearers can be reading at home, then head off to a busy shopping centre, watch a movie and answer their telephone during the course of a day, without ever having to think about, or adjust, their hearing aids.

Darryl Cockburn is amazed by the changes his hearing aid has made to his life and how others have reacted to his improved hearing — he only wishes he had done something sooner.

“The other day I was at a birthday party for one of my grandkids and I could hear everything she was saying — both good and bad”, he remarks with a chuckle. “She was saying — Pop you have new ears … and I guess I really do in that situation”.

Research has revealed the costs of hearing loss are significant - hearing loss has been linked to short-term memory loss, fatigue, anxiety, depression, even lower income — on average, up to $11,000 a year less than for their peers who use hearing aids.