Knowing when you need some medical advice is usually fairly easy. You know you need to go see a doctor immediately if you break a bone, for instance. With situations like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t a possibility. At least, not for that long (especially if you want your bones to mend themselves properly).
But when it comes to 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. That means it isn’t always easy to know when you may need to begin wearing hearing aids or to delay finding treatment you know could be helpful.
So keeping an eye out for indications that your hearing may be going is a good plan. If you notice any, it may be time to consult us about your first pair of hearing aids.
Hearing loss and hearing aids
Hearing loss is primarily treated with hearing aids. But that doesn’t mean everyone who has hearing loss will instantly need a set of hearing aids. In situations where patients have very slight hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be practical. Because of this, we might want you to wait before starting to use them. Likewise, you may be advised to wear hearing aids only 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 instances hearing aids will be the best answer. Many people won’t get their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more severe because hearing loss advances gradually and frequently goes unnoticed for a while. But if you come in for a hearing exam regularly, you might be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, because of this, you might not require hearing aids immediately.
So how will you know if you have hearing loss?
Signs you need a hearing aid
Immediate communication issues can be the consequence of hearing loss. But lots of times you don’t even comprehend that hearing loss is the reason for those communication issues. So, at what point will a hearing aid help?
Look out for these indicators:
- You have a difficult time following conversations in noisy places: This is probably one of the most prevailing symptoms of hearing loss. If you have a hard time hearing conversations in loud places, that’s usually a sure sign that you have hearing loss. That’s because your brain has difficulty filling in the missing information that gets lost with hearing impairment. As a result, there’s a lot of muddled conversations.
- When people speak, you can’t always make out what they said: Many individuals don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the total volume they hear seems fine. But hearing loss is curious, it tends to affect certain frequencies before others. Because of this, things like vowel sounds in the higher pitches can sound distorted. As a result, you may have a difficult time making out what people are saying to you.
- The volume on your devices is becoming really loud: Hearing loss could be the cause if you continually need to turn the volume of your devices up. This is especially 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).
- You can’t understand people on the phone: Voices usually sound a little flat on even high-quality phone speakers. That can make it difficult to understand, particularly if you have hearing loss. It can be extremely challenging to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
So how should you deal with it?
Clearly, you know precisely what you need to do when you break a bone! But what about when you notice these indications that you may need a hearing aid? How bad does hearing loss have to be to require a hearing aid? That isn’t a very easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing exam if you start to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to evaluate the health of your hearing and determine just how serious your hearing loss may or may not be.
And if you do wind up needing hearing aids, a hearing test will help identify the best device for your hearing needs. This means you’ll be able to get back to communicating 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 happy hour.
Contact us to schedule your hearing test, we can help you recognize if you’re suffering from hearing loss.
