According to one recent survey, nearly 30% of people have gone more than ten years without getting a hearing test. One of those people is Sofia. She goes to her annual doctor’s appointments, she sees a dentist every six months, and she gets the oil changed in her car every 3000 miles. But she hasn’t had a hearing exam in quite some time.
Hearing tests are important for a wide variety of reasons, detecting initial symptoms of hearing loss is likely the most significant one. Sophia can keep her hearing healthy for a lot longer by knowing how frequently to have her ears checked.
How Frequently Do You Need to Have a Hearing Assessment?
We may be alarmed if Sophia hadn’t had a hearing exam in a decade. Or maybe it doesn’t phase us. Depending on how old Sophia is, reactions may vary. This is because hearing specialists have different suggestions based on age.
- It’s generally suggested that you take a hearing assessment around every three years. Certainly, if you think you should get your ears checked more often, that’s also fine. The bare minimum is every three years. You should absolutely get examined more frequently if you spend a lot of time in a loud setting. There’s no reason not to do it, it’s painless and simple.
- If you’re over fifty years old: The general suggestion is that anyone older than fifty should undergo hearing checks every year. As you get older, the noise damage you’ve sustained over a lifetime can start to accelerate, meaning loss of hearing is more likely to start affecting your life. Plus, there are other health issues that can impact your hearing.
As far as your hearing is concerned, more often is absolutely better. The sooner you recognize any problems, the sooner you’ll be able to address whatever loss of hearing that might have developed since your last hearing test.
You Should Get Your Hearing Checked if You Notice These Signs
Of course, your annual (or semi-annual) hearing test isn’t the only good time to make an appointment with a hearing specialist. As an example, if you recognize signs of hearing loss. And in those situations, it’s usually a good plan to promptly get in touch with a hearing professional and schedule a hearing test.
Some of the signs that might prompt you to get a hearing test could include:
- Having a very difficult time understanding people when talking on the phone, any phone.
- Listening to your favorite music at excessively high volumes.
- Your hearing is dull as if there is water in your ears.
- When you’re talking to people, you repeatedly need to ask people to speak up.
- When you’re in a noisy environment, you have trouble hearing conversations.
- It’s normal for hearing loss in the high pitched register to fail first and because consonants are in a higher pitched register than vowels, they usually go first.
A strong indicator that right now is the best time to get a hearing exam is when the warning signs start to add up. The more frequently you have your hearing examined, the more frequently you’ll know what’s going on with your ears.
Hearing Tests, What Are The Benefits?
There are plenty of excuses why Sofia could be late in getting her hearing exam. Maybe she hasn’t thought about it. Maybe she’s just avoiding thinking about it. But getting your hearing checked on the recommended schedule has actual advantages.
Even when your hearing is completely healthy, a hearing exam can help set a baseline reading, which makes variances in the future easier to detect. If you catch your hearing loss before it becomes noticeable, you’ll be able to safeguard it better.
The point of regular hearing assessment is that someone like Sofia will be in a position to recognize problems before her hearing is permanently diminished. By detecting your hearing loss early, by getting your hearing checked when you should, you’ll be giving your ears their best chance of staying healthy. It’s essential to think about how hearing loss will affect your general health.