Knowing when you require some medical advice is typically rather easy. When you break a bone, for example, you know you should go to the doctor (or the emergency room, depending on the situation). With situations like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t an option. At least, not for very long (especially if you want your bones to repair themselves properly).
It isn’t always that obvious when it comes to hearing aids, though. Hearing loss is typically a developing condition. This means knowing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be difficult.
So watching out for indications that your hearing may be going is a good idea. If you detect any, it may be time to talk to us about your first pair of hearing aids.
Hearing loss and hearing aids
Hearing loss is mainly treated with hearing aids. But that doesn’t mean everyone who has hearing loss will instantly need a pair of hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be practical in cases of mild hearing loss. We might want you to hold off on using hearing aids because of this. It’s also possible that we could advise you to only use your hearing aids when you’re in particular situations.
Essentially, the threshold for needing hearing aids is not always a diagnosis of hearing loss.
However, hearing aids will be the ideal option in many situations. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and gradual condition, lots of people don’t get a diagnosis until there’s been substantial damage. Getting your hearing examined regularly is the key to catching hearing loss early and possibly mitigating the need for hearing aids.
So how will you know if you have hearing loss?
Signs you need a hearing aid
Immediate communication challenges can be the consequence of hearing loss. But a lot of times you don’t even comprehend that hearing loss is the cause of those communication issues. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Here are a few of the typical signs you should watch out for:
- You’re unable to understand people on the phone: Even the highest quality phone speakers tend to flatten a voice. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more challenging to understand conversations. Once again, certain frequencies are cut out and the result is that it’s very hard to understand those voices.
- You have a difficult time following conversations in noisy places: This is probably one of the most prevalent symptoms of hearing loss. If you have difficulty hearing conversations in loud places, that’s often a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This happens because your ears aren’t getting as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really able to fill in the gaps very easily. Because of this, there’s a lot of muffled conversations.
- You have trouble understanding what people are saying: Many individuals feel like the total volume of life is fine so they never consider that they may have hearing loss. But the thing about hearing loss is that particular frequencies of sound usually go before others. Due to this, things like vowel sounds in the higher pitches can sound distorted. Consequently, you may have a hard time making out what people are saying to you.
- The volume on your devices is becoming really loud: If you’re continuously turning the volume up on your television or radio or smartphone, it may be the result of hearing loss. This is particularly true if you keep turning that volume knob higher (and even more especially true if the people around you complain about how loud your media is).
So what can you do?
Obviously, you know precisely what you need to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you start to detect the symptoms of hearing loss? How bad does hearing loss have to be to call for a hearing aid? That isn’t a very easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing assessment if you begin to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to assess the health of your hearing and ascertain just how serious your hearing loss may or may not be.
A hearing evaluation will also help you get the most effective hearing aids for your requirements if you do indeed need hearing aids. This means you’ll be able to get back to spending quality time with your friends and loved ones, you’ll hear your grandkids when they give you a call, your co-workers at your morning meeting, and your friends at happy hour.
Contact us to schedule your hearing exam, we can help you recognize if you’re suffering from hearing loss.
