When you think of hearing loss, you may imagine that both ears are deaf.
However, there are quite a few cases where only one ear is soft.
The current Japanese criteria for the disability certificate requires that the hearing in both ears be impaired.
In other words, a person who can hear normally in one ear and has hearing loss in only one ear cannot receive a disability certificate.
I would like to see this revised as soon as possible.
Let's take a look at the criteria for the disability certificate due to hearing loss and hearing loss in one ear.
Current criteria for disability certification due to hearing loss
The current criteria for certification of disability due to hearing loss basically require hearing loss in both ears.
If you have a hearing loss in one ear, you will not be certified as a person with a disability of Level 6 or higher.
The conditions are as follows
- Hearing in one ear must be 90 dB or greater and the other 50 dB or greater.
This is not a one-ear hearing loss, but a normal binaural hearing loss.
With 50 dB, you would normally have to wear hearing aids in both ears to live.
Under the current system, if you have a hearing loss in only one ear, you cannot apply for a disability certificate.
The criteria for disability due to hearing loss are explained in "Is certification of disability due to hearing loss a hurdle? Criteria for Receiving a Disability Certificate in Japan".
Inconvenience due to hearing loss in one ear
Some people may think, "I have two ears, so if I can hear in one ear, there is no problem. Some people may think, "Well, I have two ears, so if I can hear in one ear, there's no problem.
I would like to ask such a person!
Well, I have two hands and two feet, so wouldn't it be a problem if I lost one of them?
You have two eyes, so why don't you need one eye?
If I had one eye, one hand, and one leg, I would feel annoyed.
But for some reason, many people think it would be better if they could hear out of one of their ears. There are many people who think, "Why not have one ear?
There are two reasons.
The inconvenience of being deaf in one ear is as follows.
- Not knowing the direction of sound
- Not being able to understand when someone who cannot hear speaks to you
If you are deaf in one ear, you do not know the direction of sound.
Therefore, even if you hear a sound, you cannot tell where the person is speaking from.
If more than one person is speaking, you cannot tell who is speaking.
Of course, if the person in the deaf ear speaks to you, you will not notice.
In this way, just by being deaf in one ear, the world changes completely.
Please refer to this article for an explanation of hearing loss in one ear.
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