Recognizing when you require some medical advice is normally rather easy. You know you need to go to the doctor immediately if you break your leg, for example. You may need a splint or a cast or supportive device, but the thing is that you’re not likely to try “toughing it out”. If you want your bones to heal properly, you need to get them taken care of as soon as you can.
But in terms of hearing aids, it’s not always so simple to identify when it’s time to get some assistance. Hearing loss normally progresses really gradually over time. This means knowing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be difficult.
That’s why it’s a good idea to watch out for some distinct signposts that you may be losing your ability to communicate. If you detect any, it may be time to talk to us about your first pair of hearing aids.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
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. In situations where patients have very mild hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be beneficial. Consequently, we might want you to wait before beginning to use them. Likewise, you may be advised to wear hearing aids only in specific situations.
This means that just because you’re 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 individuals won’t have their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more serious because hearing loss advances gradually 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 require hearing aids immediately.
So how will you know if you have hearing loss?
Signs you need a hearing aid
Instant communication challenges can be the result of hearing loss. The funny thing, though, is that you don’t always understand that those communication issues are caused by hearing loss. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Here are a few of the typical signs you should watch out for:
- Phone conversations sound muddled: Voices typically sound a little flat on even high-quality phone speakers. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more difficult to understand conversations. Once again, certain frequencies are cut out and the result is that it’s very hard to hear those voices.
- You have a tough time following conversations in noisy places: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one almost always comes up. If you have trouble hearing conversations in noisy places, that’s often a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This occurs 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 as easily. Because of this, there’s a lot of muffled conversations.
- The volume on your devices is becoming really loud: Hearing loss could be the culprit if you constantly need to crank the volume of your devices up. If you find people around you complaining about the loud volume of your devices, this is particularly relevant.
- 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 impact certain frequencies before others. Because of this, things like vowel sounds in the higher register can sound distorted. Consequently, you might have a hard time understanding what people are saying to you.
So what should you do?
Clearly, you know exactly what you have to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you begin to notice the symptoms of hearing loss? How severe does hearing loss need to be to require a hearing aid? That’s not a really easy answer but you should make an appointment with us for a hearing assessment if you start 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.
And if you do wind 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 family, you’ll hear 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 test so we can help you improve your quality of life.
