Most hearing loss is slight initially, and you might not even recognize a change. In fact, it is usually family and friends who tip off someone to their hearing issue. While hearing tests are a routine part of childhood, many adults tend to overlook this crucial checkup, unlike regular eye exams that are frequently prioritized.
Clues You May Need a Hearing Test
Throughout the day, there are many occasions when you could fail to hear certain things and especially not hear the same things as other people.
- Are you frequently asking people to repeat themselves?
- Do you notice that you are increasing the volume on your TV?
- Is it harder to understand everybody at a noisy restaurant?
- Are miscommunications or misinterpretations in your personal or professional life causing disputes?
Such incidents can take place frequently and have a lasting impact on interpersonal connections.
Specific Reasons Why You Should Have Your Hearing Checked Regularly
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association standards state that adults should get a hearing assessment 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 issues, this is an excellent reason to schedule a hearing test with a hearing professional.
2. Set Your Baseline Hearing
By understanding your hearing ability in each ear, you can pinpoint potential problems or areas for improvement.
You may be missing certain sounds or experiencing slight hearing problems that could indicate the need for additional assessments or interventions.
3. Helps Gauge Future Changes
Every new test will compare new data with past assessments. Some changes occur slowly, and the tests will recognize any changes even if you can’t.
4. Helps in Identifying and Addressing Issues at an Early Stage
Innovative diagnostic tools now keep track of fluctuations and their rate of advancement, allowing healthcare professionals to identify and address issues, such as excessive earwax build-up or noise-related hearing damage, at an early stage.
5. Detect Health Issues
In some cases hearing loss is a symptom of an intrinsic medical condition like diabetes and high blood pressure (connected to hearing loss and tinnitus), plus cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. You may be able to alleviate hearing loss by managing the medical conditions causing it.
6. Minimize Additional Harm
When a patient doesn’t get treatment, they can become despondent and fear social situations, encouraging seclusion and further depression. Elderly individuals experiencing hearing troubles may be at an increased danger of experiencing injuries due to their inability to hear alert signals including car horns, smoke alarms, and other warning sounds. Moreover, neglected hearing loss is linked to dementia and falls.
Getting the Answers You Need
You may have wondered if you’re dealing with some amount of hearing loss. Now you have answers, including the knowledge that hearing aids will improve not only your hearing but also your relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.
After getting the right hearing aids to address your hearing loss, you will experience enhanced listening ability in conversations, work meetings, and while enjoying the sounds of your child’s laughter or a loved one’s voice.
Get in touch with us if you want to schedule a hearing test or if you think you are noticing hearing loss.