In some cases, it’s easy to know when you require medical help. When you break your leg, for instance, you know you should go to the doctor (or the emergency room, depending on the situation). With situations like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t an option. At least, not for very long (especially if you want your bones to mend themselves correctly).
But in terms of hearing aids, it isn’t always so easy to recognize when it’s time to get some help. Hearing loss usually progresses really gradually over time. That means it isn’t always simple to know when you may need to start wearing hearing aids or to delay finding treatment you know could be beneficial.
That’s why it’s a good plan to keep an eye out for some specific indicators that you might be losing your ability to communicate. If you observe any, it may be time to consult us about your first pair of hearing aids.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
Hearing aids are the main form of treatment for hearing loss. But that doesn’t mean everyone who has hearing loss will immediately need a pair of hearing aids. In cases where patients have very minor hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be useful. As a result, 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 automatically need hearing aids.
But in many cases hearing aids will be the best solution. Many individuals won’t get their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more serious because hearing loss advances slowly and frequently goes undetected for a while. Getting your hearing assessed regularly is the key to catching hearing loss early and possibly mitigating the need for hearing aids.
So how will you know if you have hearing loss?
You need hearing aids if you experience these signs
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause immediate communication challenges. But lots of times you don’t even comprehend that hearing loss is the cause of those communication issues. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Here are some of the common signs you should watch out for:
- Phone conversations sound muddled: Voices typically sound a bit flat on even high-quality phone speakers. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more challenging to understand conversations. It can be really difficult to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
- You have difficulty understanding what people are saying: Many people don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the total volume they perceive seems fine. But hearing loss is funny, it tends to impact particular frequencies before others. Which means that the vast majority of sounds might seem ordinary but things in the high frequencies (like certain vowels) will be distorted. This could cause you to have a hard time understanding what people are saying.
- 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 is almost always mentioned. One of the surest indications of hearing loss is that you have difficulty following conversations in noisy locations, like bars or restaurants. This occurs because your ears are not receiving as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really able to fill in the gaps as easily. As a result, there’s a lot of muffled conversations.
- The volume on your devices is getting really loud: If you’re constantly turning up the volume on your television or radio or smartphone, it may be because of hearing loss. This is especially true if you keep turning that volume knob higher (and even more especially relevant if the people around you complain about how loud your media is).
So what can you do?
When you break a bone, it’s clear cut what to do: you go to the doctor! But what about when you experience these signs that you might need a hearing aid? What degree of hearing loss calls for hearing aids? That’s not a very easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test if you start to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to assess the health of your hearing and determine just how severe your hearing loss may or may not be.
And if you do end 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 loved ones, you’ll understand 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.