Why people don't get help for hearing loss

Dr. Sam Trychin knows a thing or two about hearing loss.
The American psychologist was first diagnosed with hearing loss while serving in the American Air Force. For decades, he has worked with patients and their families to help them navigate the frightening world of hearing loss and help them learn to live in a hearing world.
His patients are the lucky ones.
What frustrates him the most is the number of people living in the United States, and around the world, who don't seek treatment and solutions for their condition.
Less than one percent of people in the United States use forms of amplification including hearing aids, and only four in 10 people with moderate to severe hearing loss are using amplification.
"That means there are a lot of people out there who don't know what the hell is going on."
We're not just talking about old people. Many people in the working world refuse to seek treatment. Even parents with young children won't let their children wear hearing aids because they don't want them to appear different from the other kids.
A lot of it has to do with stigma.
"They are afraid of being fired," he says. "Or their hearing device doesn't go with their outfit. Or they don't want to appear different. Or they are afraid people will think they are stupid or infirm."
The biggest problems, according to Dr. Trychin are the lack of information and the lack of expertise among medical professionals who don't understand the dynamics of hearing loss.
"Medical students, in four years, get an hour on the ear. It's all on structure and nothing on function. So why should they know anything? It's not in their training. It's not in the training of psychologists, teachers or social workers.
"We need to push the medical system, push the educational system, push the mental health system to make people aware of the psychological effects of hearing loss and what can be done about it."
Why don't people seek treatment?
"They don't believe they have hearing loss. They don't even know what they're missing. Or they know they have hearing loss, but they don't see it as a problem. Or they don't believe hearing aids work. Or they don't want to be identified as having a hearing loss. They don't want to be seen as having hearing aids."
One of the biggest issues is that people believe hearing aids are the solution to their hearing loss problem, he says. They expect hearing aids to be like glasses, correcting their problem when hearing aids are only meant to help.
"People get 20/20 vision with glasses," he says. "So people who get hearing aids think they'll be cured of their hearing loss and that's not the case. The fact is, hearing aids are wonderful in some situations and less wonderful in other situations. We need to talk about this."