Recognizing when you need some medical advice is normally fairly easy. When you break your leg, for example, you know you should go to the doctor (or the emergency room, depending on the scenario). With scenarios like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t an option. At least, not for very long (particularly if you want your bones to mend themselves properly).
It isn’t always that obvious with regard to hearing aids, though. Hearing loss is usually a developing condition. This means it isn’t always simple to know when you might need to start wearing hearing aids or to put off 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 notice any.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
Hearing aids are the main form of treatment for hearing loss. But that doesn’t mean everybody who has hearing loss will instantly need a set of hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be beneficial in cases of mild hearing loss. Because of this, we might want you to wait before beginning to use them. It’s also feasible that we could direct you to only wear your hearing aids when you’re in particular situations.
This means that just because you’re diagnosed with hearing loss doesn’t mean you will automatically require hearing aids.
But in many cases hearing aids will be the best solution. Many people won’t get their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more serious because hearing loss progresses gradually and frequently goes undetected for a while. Getting your hearing examined regularly is the key to catching hearing loss early and possibly mitigating the need for hearing aids.
And if that’s the situation, you’re most likely thinking: how can I tell if I require hearing aids?
You need hearing aids if you detect these indicators
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause immediate communication difficulties. 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 look out for:
- The volume on your devices is getting really loud: If you’re constantly turning the volume up on your television or radio or smartphone, it may be the result of hearing loss. If you find individuals around you complaining about the high volume of your devices, this is particularly relevant.
- When you’re in very loud settings, you have a hard time following conversations: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one almost always comes up. If you have a hard time hearing conversations in noisy places, that’s often a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This happens because your ears aren’t receiving as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really capable of filling in the gaps as easily. As a result, there’s a lot of muffled conversations.
- You can’t understand people on the phone: Even the best phone speakers have a habit of flattening a voice. That can make it tough to understand, particularly if you have hearing loss. It can be very difficult to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
- When people speak, you can’t always understand what they said: Many people feel like the overall volume of life is fine so they never consider that they might have hearing loss. But the thing about hearing loss is that particular frequencies of sound often go before others. Because of this, things like vowel sounds in the higher register can sound distorted. This could cause you to have a tough time understanding what people are saying.
So what can you do?
Clearly, you know exactly what you have to do when you break a bone! But what about when you notice these signs that you might need a hearing aid? How severe does hearing loss have to be to require a hearing aid? That’s not a very easy answer but you should make an appointment with us for a hearing test if you start to detect any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to evaluate the health of your hearing and find out just how serious your hearing loss may or may not be.
And if you do end up needing hearing aids, a hearing exam will help determine the best device for your hearing needs. Then you will be able to get back to enjoying good conversations with your friends and family members and doing the things you love.
Call us for a hearing exam so we can help you improve your quality of life.
