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 yearly doctor’s appointments, she sees a dentist every six months, and she has an oil change in her car every 3000 miles. But she hasn’t had a hearing test in a long time.
Hearing tests are important for a wide variety of reasons, detecting first symptoms of hearing loss is likely the most essential one. Sophia can keep her hearing healthy for a much longer period of time by recognizing how frequently to have her ears tested.
How Often Should You Have a Hearing Examination?
If the last time Sofia took a hearing test was ten years ago, we may be worried. Or we may think it’s completely normal. Our response, and the reaction of her hearing specialist, probably will vary depending on her age. This is because hearing professionals have different guidelines based on age.
- If you’re older than fifty: But if you’re above the age of fifty, the recommendation is, you have a hearing test every year. Hearing loss is more liable to affect your life as you grow older because noise damage begins to add up. There are also several other factors that can affect your hearing.
- At least every three years, it’s suggested that you get a hearing test. There’s no issue having your ears tested more frequently, of course! The minimum is every three years. If you are subjected to loud noise repeatedly or work in a field where noise is typical, you should decide to get checked more often. There’s no reason not to get it done, it’s painless and simple.
If you would like to have hearing screenings or tests more frequently, there’s certainly no harm in that, at least in terms of your hearing. Since you last had a hearing assessment, you may have new injury you should recognize, so regular hearing exams might be practical.
You Should Get Your Hearing Checked if You Notice These Signs
There are certainly other times besides your yearly hearing exam that you might want to make an appointment with your hearing specialist. For example, if you recognize signs of hearing loss. And in those situations, it’s often a good idea to promptly get in touch with a hearing specialist and schedule a hearing test.
Some of the signs that might prompt you to get a hearing test could include:
- Listening to your favorite tunes at extremely high volumes.
- It’s common for loss of hearing in the high pitched register to fail first and because consonants are in a higher pitched register than vowels, they normally fail first.
- Difficulties hearing discussions in noisy surroundings.
- When you’re speaking with people, you repeatedly have to keep asking people to repeat themselves.
- Having a very hard time comprehending people when talking on the phone, mobile or otherwise
- Sounds become muffled; it’s starting to sound as though you always have water in your ears.
When these warning signs start to add up, it’s a strong indication that the ideal time to get a hearing test is right now. You need to know what’s happening with your hearing and that means getting a hearing exam as soon as possible.
What Are The Benefits of Hearing Testing?
There are plenty of reasons why Sofia might be late in having her hearing exam. Denial is a top choice. Potentially she’s just avoiding thinking about it. But getting your hearing checked on the recommended schedule has concrete benefits.
And it will be easier to identify hearing deviations in the future if you get your hearing tested by forming a baseline reading even if it seems like everything is normal. If you catch your hearing loss before it becomes obvious, you can safeguard it better.
That’s the reason why Sophia has to show up for regular hearing exams before any permanent impairment happens. Early detection by a hearing exam can help your hearing stay healthy for a long time. It’s essential to think about how hearing loss will affect your general state of health.
