Most hearing loss is slight initially, and you may not even notice a change. Often, it is loved ones who are the first to notice and bring awareness to a person’s hearing trouble. While children are regularly tested, many adults do not think about scheduling a hearing test like they would for their vision.
Clues You Might Need a Hearing Test
There are lots of everyday instances where you may not be hearing everything and definitely not hearing what others do.
- Are you frequently asking people to repeat themselves?
- Are you finding yourself turning up the volume on your TV?
- Does background noise in a loud restaurant make it more difficult to hear and understand conversations?
- Are there misunderstandings at work or at home leading to disputes?
Such episodes can take place regularly and have a lasting impact on interpersonal connections.
Important Advantages of Scheduling Regular Hearing Exams
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association guidelines state that adults should get a hearing assessment every 10 years up until age 50, and adults over the age of 50 should get one every 3 years.
1. Family History
If your family members are dealing with hearing troubles, it is a good idea to book a hearing evaluation with a professional specializing in hearing health.
2. Set Your Baseline Hearing
By understanding your hearing ability in each ear, you can identify potential issues or areas for improvement.
You might be missing certain sounds or experiencing slight hearing difficulties that could indicate the need for additional assessments or interventions.
3. Helps Measure Future Changes
Each new test will compare new information with past tests. Some changes occur slowly, and the tests will identify any changes even if you don’t.
4. Assists in Identifying and Addressing Problems at an Early Stage
Advanced diagnostic tools now keep track of changes and their rate of advancement, enabling healthcare professionals to recognize and manage issues, such as excessive earwax build-up or noise-related hearing damage, at an early stage.
5. Pinpoint Medical Conditions
Sometimes hearing loss is a symptom of an intrinsic medical condition including diabetes and high blood pressure (connected to hearing loss and tinnitus), plus cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. You might be able to relieve hearing loss by managing the medical conditions causing it.
6. Stop Further Damage
When a patient doesn’t get treatment, they can become despondent and fear social situations, encouraging seclusion and further depression. Seniors with hearing problems can have increased injuries when they don’t hear warning signals like car horns, smoke alarms, and other sounds that mean danger. Furthermore, research has shown a link between unaddressed hearing loss and an elevated risk of developing cognitive decline and experiencing falls.
Finding the Information You’re Looking For
Perhaps you have suspected you have a hearing loss. Now you have answers, including the understanding that hearing aids will enhance not only your hearing but also your relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.
Once your hearing loss is treated with the suitable hearing aids, you’ll be able to hear more efficiently during conversations or work meetings, or simply listen to your child’s laughter or a loved one’s voice.
Reach out to us to arrange a hearing evaluation or if you’re worried that you might be experiencing hearing troubles.