Hearing loss often starts out with mild, almost unperceivable changes that can be easy to miss. Actually, it is normally friends and family who tip off someone to their hearing problem. Although children are routinely assessed, many adults do not think about scheduling a hearing exam like they would for their vision.
Clues You Might Need a Hearing Test
Throughout the day, there are many instances when you might fail to hear certain things and especially not hear the same things as other people.
- Do you often request people to repeat what they said?
- Are you finding yourself turning up the volume on your TV?
- Is it difficult to understand everybody at a noisy restaurant?
- Are miscommunications or misinterpretations in your personal or professional life causing conflicts?
Such incidents can occur regularly and have a lasting impact on interpersonal connections.
Important Advantages of Scheduling Routine Hearing Exams
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association guidelines state that adults should get a hearing screening every 10 years up until age 50, and adults over the age of 50 should have one every 3 years.
1. Family History
If other members of your family have hearing problems, this is a very good reason to set up a hearing test with a hearing specialist.
2. Set Your Baseline Hearing
By understanding your hearing ability in each ear, you can pinpoint potential problems or areas for improvement.
There are sounds you might not be hearing and impairments that may require further evaluations or treatments.
3. Tracks Progress Over Time
Every new test will compare new data with past tests. Some changes occur gradually, and the tests will identify any changes even if you don’t.
4. Assists in Recognizing and Addressing Issues at an Early Stage
New tests monitor changes and how rapidly they are happening, which can help identify and manage problems early, such as a buildup of earwax or noise-induced hearing loss.
5. Pinpoint Medical Conditions
In some scenarios, hearing loss can be a sign of a more serious underlying health problem, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, or kidney disease, all of which have been linked to hearing problems and tinnitus. You may be able to relieve hearing loss by managing the medical conditions causing it.
6. Decrease Additional Harm
If a patient does not receive treatment, they might experience feelings of depression and anxiety in social settings, resulting in enhanced isolation and worsening of their depression. Elderly people dealing with hearing troubles may be at a higher danger of experiencing injuries due to their inability to hear warning signals such as car horns, smoke alarms, and other warning sounds. In addition, untreated hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline and falls.
Getting the Answers You Need
You may have wondered if you’re experiencing some amount of hearing loss. Now you have answers, including the knowledge that hearing aids will enhance not only your hearing but also your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues.
Once your hearing loss is treated with the appropriate hearing aids, you’ll be able to hear more effectively during conversations or work meetings, or simply listen to your child’s laughter or a loved one’s voice.
Contact us if you want to schedule a hearing exam or if you think you are noticing hearing loss.
