Hear better, work better: MED-EL raises awareness of noise-induced hearing loss and career impact

October 1, 2024 – (Innsbruck, Austria): October is Protect Your Hearing Month. During this month-long observance, MED-EL, a leading hearing implant manufacturer, is raising awareness about the impact of hearing loss, how to prevent it, and why protecting your hearing is critical for both your health and career.

• Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common chronic work-related conditions.
• Untreated hearing loss increases unemployment risk. Individuals with hearing loss earn, on average, 25% less.
• Long-term exposure to workplace noise raises the risk of hearing loss in older age.

Noise is a major cause of hearing loss, permanently damaging the hair cells in the inner ear (cochlea), the sensory cells of the auditory system. Once damaged, these cells cannot regenerate, meaning the only remedy for hearing loss is through hearing technology such as hearing aids or cochlear implants. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 billion adolescents worldwide are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss due to unsafe listening habits, including listening to music too loud and too long.

For working adults, hazardous occupational noise constitutes a significant hearing health safety issue. In the USA, approximately 1 in 8 people experience hearing difficulties due to workplace noise exposure, yet more than half of noise-exposed workers report not using hearing protection. Even though the risk of hearing loss among noise-exposed industrial workers has decreased in the past three decades, the long-term consequences often manifest much later in life. Working in loud environments for more than 10 years significantly increases the risk of developing hearing loss in older age.

Simple steps to protect your hearing

Occupational noise-induced hearing loss is preventable with basic safety measures. Using hearing protectors is an easy and highly effective way to reduce harmful noise exposure. In many countries, employers are legally required to provide employees with appropriate hearing protection and training on its correct use. Beyond protective equipment, employers should control noise levels by technical and organizational means. Ear plugs are also the easiest way to protect one’s hearing against recreational noise, e.g. at loud concerts or in clubs.

Good hearing, better income

Untreated hearing loss does not just affect your quality of life – it impacts your career. Socioeconomic studies have shown that individuals with hearing loss face higher rates of unemployment and, when employed, often earn up to 25% less than their peers without hearing problems. Hearing intervention, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, can remedy the situation and open up career opportunities. „My job as a maintenance engineer requires me to communicate with pilots on trial flights. With my hearing loss progressing, I was no longer able to do that. My cochlear implants enabled me to resume trial flights. I owe my job and career to them,” says Michael, a maintenance engineer at a big airline.

Effective solutions to treat hearing loss

There are various treatment options for people with poor hearing, from hearing aids to hearing implants. Cochlear implants can be a solution for those with more severe hearing loss, enabling them to reconnect with their surroundings and take control of their professional lives. The most important thing is not to delay treatment. The longer hearing loss goes untreated, the more difficult it can be to regain hearing clarity, even with advanced technology.

To learn more about MED-EL, hearing loss and solutions, visit the company’s website, where you can also take a free online hearing test. Connect with a global community of cochlear implant users and explore the impact of hearing technology on their lives.

Further information and references
WHO Archives - Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth (un.org)
Overall Statistics – All U.S. Industries | Noise and Hearing Loss | CDC
Gopinath B, et al. Workplace noise exposure and the prevalence and 10-year incidence of age-related hearing loss. PLoS One. 2021 Jul 30;16(7):e0255356. 
HSE - Noise: Hearing protection
Malcolm KA, Suen JJ, Nieman CL. Socioeconomic position and hearing loss: current understanding and recent advances. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 Oct 1;30(5):351-357. 

About MED-EL

MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 2,800 employees from around 80 nations and 30 locations worldwide.
The company offers the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss, enabling people in 137 countries enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, a combined electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant system, auditory brainstem implants as well as surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com   

CEO

Doz. DI Dr DDr med. h.c. Ingeborg Hochmair

Press Contact

PR & Corporate Communications
MED-EL Medical Electronics
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6020 Innsbruck
Austria
T: +43 5 7788
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