Knowing when you need some medical advice is usually fairly easy. You know you need to go to the doctor immediately if you break a bone, for example. With situations like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t a possibility. If you want your bones to heal properly, you need to get them taken care of as soon as you can.
It’s not always that clear cut with regard to hearing aids, however. Hearing loss normally progresses really slowly over time. This means recognizing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be tricky.
That’s why it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for some distinct indicators that you might be losing your ability to communicate. If you notice any, it may be time to talk to us about your first set of hearing aids.
Hearing loss and hearing aids
Hearing loss is mainly treated with hearing aids. But everybody who has some degree of hearing loss won’t necessarily need hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be beneficial in cases of minor hearing loss. Because of this, we may want you to wait before starting to use them. It’s also possible that we could direct you to only wear your hearing aids when you’re in specific situations.
This means that just because you’re diagnosed with hearing loss doesn’t mean you will necessarily require hearing aids.
But in many instances hearing aids will be the best solution. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and slow condition, many individuals don’t receive a diagnosis until there’s been substantial damage. Getting your hearing assessed 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 need hearing aids?
You need hearing aids if you detect these indicators
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause immediate communication obstacles. The curious thing, though, is that you don’t always understand that those communication difficulties are caused by hearing loss. So, at what point will a hearing aid help you?
Here are some of the common signs you should watch out for:
- Phone conversations sound muffled: Voices typically sound a little flat on even high-quality phone speakers. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even harder to understand conversations. Once again, particular frequencies are cut out and the result is that it’s very hard to hear those voices.
- The volume on your devices is getting very loud: If you’re continuously turning up the volume on your television or radio or smartphone, it might be due to hearing loss. If you find people around you complaining about the loud volume of your devices, this is especially 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 funny, it tends to impact specific frequencies before others. Which means that the great majority of sounds might seem normal but things in the high frequencies (like certain vowels) will be distorted. Consequently, you might have a tough time making out what people are saying to you.
- You have a difficult time hearing conversations in noisy places: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one is almost always mentioned. If you have difficulty hearing conversations in loud places, that’s often a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This happens because your ears aren’t getting as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really capable of filling in the gaps as easily. A lot of conversations get muddled as a result.
So how should you deal with it?
When you break a bone, it’s clear cut what to do: you go see the doctor! But what about when you experience these signs that you might need a hearing aid? How severe does hearing loss have to be to call for a hearing aid? That’s not a very easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test if you start to detect 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.
A hearing evaluation will also help you get the most effective hearing aids for your needs if you do indeed need hearing aids. Then you will be able to get back to enjoying good conversations with your friends and loved ones and doing the things you love.
Contact us to schedule your hearing test, we can help you understand if you’re suffering from hearing loss.