more and more norwegians are hard-of-hearing. For the first time have we got figures on how much hearing loss costs the Norwegian society.
the Survey is done by Oslo Economics for Hørselshemmedes Association, HLF.
Bad hearing affects people of all ages, and a million norwegians have problems with your hearing, as measured on the best ear, according to the HLF.
Defined hearing loss as hearing impairment of at least one cent, it is estimated that as many as 36 % of the population has a hearing impairment.
– We’re talking about two billion in production losses per year. Each year we lose 70.000 day’s work with honest labor, as a result of the reduced hearing. We add the value of lost quality of life at the top, we are up in the 37 billion.
the general SECRETARY OF the HLF, HENRIK PEERSEN says that the way we mingle with the sound on, is the main reason that so many in Norway have bad hearing.
Photo: Grete Thobroe / NRK
It says the general secretary of the HLF, Henrik Peersen. He is surprised at the high numbers. At the same time they vote with the numbers from the countries we compare ourselves with.
Facilitation on the job
the Study shows that simple measures and provision in the workplace, could have saved the society for large sums of money.
– the moment you get the understanding of what a hearing impairment means, for both the employee and employer, and have the will to make minor adjustments in the working day, it will be easier to stand longer in the workplace with hearing loss, ” says Peersen.
Measures as good møtekultur and referatskriving from the meetings, it means a lot for people who belong to the poor. In addition there is a open plan office bad for those who have problems with hearing.
– It is also largely about being open about the hearing loss, and that the workplace is handling this in a friendly way, ” says Peersen.
He adds that hearing loss is associated with much shame. Many try to hide the fact that they hear badly.
Affects the young and old
Many of us are exposed daily to harmful noise. We have music in their ears all the time, and more jobs in work environments where there is too much sound. It leads to the wear and tear on your hearing, which makes that many eventually hear the worse.
– We are several who get damage to your hearing because we circumvented noise in a senseless manner, ” says Henrik Peersen.
Hearing loss is one of the fastest growing folkehelseutfordringene we have today, and they affect people of all ages. Many of us have a hearing impairment and reduced hearing, without being aware of it, ” says Hørselsforsker at Sintef, Tron Vedul Tronstad.
– There is no doubt that we will hear worse when we get older. But much of the damage we see is an accumulation of minor injuries in the course of his life. There are unknown, and I think the age gets unfair a lot of guilt in relation to hearing loss, ” says Tronstad.
Figures from the WHO show that about half of the youth in høyinntekts and middelinntekstland hear music on a malicious high volume through headsets and earphones.
40 per cent of young people are also exposed to a harmful noise level at night clubs and sporting events.
