In some cases, it’s easy to recognize when you need medical advice. When you break a bone, for instance, you know you should go to the doctor (or the emergency room, depending on the scenario). With situations like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t a possibility. At least, not for that long (particularly if you want your bones to mend themselves properly).
But in terms of hearing aids, it isn’t always so simple to identify when it’s time to get some assistance. Hearing loss is usually a progressive condition. This means it isn’t always simple to know when you might need to start wearing hearing aids or to delay finding treatment you know could be beneficial.
So watching out for signs that your hearing may be going is a good idea. It’s likely time to call us for a consultation if you do detect any.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
Hearing loss is mainly treated with hearing aids. But everyone who has some level of hearing loss won’t automatically need hearing aids. In cases where patients have very mild hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be helpful. We may want you to hold off on using hearing aids because of this. It’s also feasible that we could instruct you to only wear your hearing aids when you’re in particular situations.
This means that just because you are diagnosed with hearing loss doesn’t mean you will necessarily need hearing aids.
But in many situations hearing aids will be the best option. Many people won’t get their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more severe because hearing loss progresses slowly and often goes unnoticed for a while. But if you come in for a hearing exam regularly, you may be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, as a result, you may not need hearing aids immediately.
So how will you know if you have hearing loss?
Signs you need a hearing aid
Instant communication issues can be the result of hearing loss. But lots of times you don’t even comprehend that hearing loss is the reason for those communication problems. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Look out for these signs:
- You have trouble understanding what people are saying: Many people feel like the total volume of life is fine so they never consider that they might have hearing loss. But hearing loss is curious, it tends to affect particular frequencies before others. Which means that the great majority of sounds could seem ordinary but things in the high frequencies (such as particular vowels) will be distorted. As a result, you may have a tough time understanding what people are saying to you.
- The volume on your devices is getting very loud: If you’re continuously turning up the volume on your television or radio or smartphone, it may be due to hearing loss. This is especially true if you keep moving that volume knob higher (and even more especially relevant if the people around you complain about how loud your media is).
- When you’re in noisy locations, you have a difficult time following conversations: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one almost always comes up. One of the surest indications of hearing loss is that you have trouble following conversations in loud places, like bars or restaurants. This occurs because your ears are not receiving as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really able to fill in the gaps as easily. Lots of conversations get muddled as a result.
- Phone conversations sound muffled: Even the highest quality phone speakers have a habit of flattening a voice. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more difficult to understand conversations. Once again, particular frequencies are cut out and the outcome is that it’s very hard to understand those voices.
So what can you do?
Obviously, you know precisely what you have to do when you break a bone! But what about when you detect these indications that you may need a hearing aid? What degree of hearing loss calls for hearing aids? That’s not a really easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test if you start to experience any hearing loss symptoms. We will be able to inform you about how serious your hearing loss is.
And if you do end up needing hearing aids, a hearing assessment will help identify the best device for your hearing needs. This means you’ll be able to get back to spending quality time with your friends and loved ones, you’ll understand your grandkids when they give you a call, your co-workers at your morning meeting, and your friends at the pub.
Call us for a hearing exam so we can help you improve your quality of life.