"It was long considered a disease of the elderly," said Ingrid Edwards, an audiologist at The Heuser Hearing Institute in Louisville, Ky. "Now, 40-year-old people, who are still working and still require the ability to communicate regularly at work and to maintain their lifestyles, can't hear."

A recent U.S. survey, commissioned by a nonprofit foundation and an amplified- telephone supplier, suggests that nearly half of the nation's 76 million baby boomers might be in a similar boat.

Forty-nine percent of the respondents to the boomer survey of about 440 people say they've experienced some hearing difficulty, but only about one in three had gotten a hearing test, according to The Education and Auditory Research Foundation and Clarity, which co-sponsored the survey.

A self-image issue

The excuses for steering clear of hearing tests -- as well as hearing aids -- are numerous, experts say.

Sometimes, "it's a matter of pride," said Dr. Michael E. Glasscock III, founder and president emeritus of The EAR Foundation and a former otologist. "A lot of baby boomers don't want to look old. They don't want anybody to think of them as being old, and they don't want to think of themselves as being old."

So instead of facing up to a hearing problem, some prefer to say, "Oh no, there's not anything wrong," said Suzanne Wyatt, the foundation's executive director.

"Then there's another significant portion who just don't know what their options are," so they don't address the problem.

"We're just urging them to go get tested if they do feel that they do have some issues."

There are many reasons for hearing loss. Among the survey respondents who reported a hearing problem, 51 percent blamed it on noise, 37 percent blamed age and 18 percent cited a medical condition.

When it comes to hearing loss, "aging certainly contributes," said Tina R. Mullins, director of audiology adult practice at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

The structures of the ear become less elastic and undergo other changes that make them less able to respond to sound waves.

Noise can worsen those changes, according to "The Merck Manual of Medical Information."

Stop that racket

The louder the noise, the more damage there is to the delicate hair cells in the inner ear, Mullins said. "The very loud noises are toxic at much shorter durations of time, so very loud noises, you can only be exposed to for a very short time before your ears will show the effect."

Genetics also appears to be a contributing factor, said Dr. Jill Preminger, an associate professor in the audiology program at the University of Louisville and president of the Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology.

"Some people seem more susceptible to hearing loss from noise than others, and then hearing loss with age also seems to be very genetic," Preminger said. "In some families, people lose their hearing starting in their 60s. In other families, not until their 70s or 80s."

Baby boomers are those Americans who were born between the years 1946 and 1964, so they're in their 40s and 50s.

Although growing up with rock 'n' roll is often blamed for baby boomers' hearing problems, Edwards said any type of music can be damaging. She believes overall lifestyle is more of a contributing factor.

"They're just staying active longer; so the more active they are, the more they're outside of their home, the more they're exposed to noise," she said.

Some have been exposed to noise on the job, and many of the older ones "worked for years in noise with no protection," Edwards said.

Also, in general, Mullins said, "the noise levels have significantly changed in our environment ... just because of the things that we have in our life, whether it's appliances, the cars, the capacity of speakers that didn't exist before."

Edwards urges people to get their hearing tested annually by an audiologist or during their annual physicals once they reach an appropriate age.

"Get your hearing tested as soon as you turn 40, and if you start feeling like you're having difficulty understanding, then it's time for a hearing test," she said.

By Darla Carter