Sometimes, it’s easy to know when you require medical help. When you break your leg, for example, 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. If you want your bones to mend correctly, you need to get them treated as soon as possible.
It isn’t always that obvious with regard to hearing aids, however. Hearing loss usually advances very gradually over time. This means it’s not always simple to know when you might need to start using hearing aids or to put off seeking treatment you know could be beneficial.
That’s why it’s a good plan to watch out for some distinct signposts that you may be losing your ability to communicate. It’s probably time to call us for a consultation if you do notice any.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
Hearing loss is primarily managed with hearing aids. But that doesn’t mean everyone who has hearing loss will immediately need a set of hearing aids. In situations where patients have very minor hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be helpful. Consequently, we might want you to wait before beginning to use them. It’s also possible that we could advise 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 automatically need hearing aids.
But in many cases hearing aids will be the best option. Many people won’t have their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more severe because hearing loss progresses gradually and often goes unnoticed for a while. Getting your hearing examined 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 detect these signs
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can create instant communication difficulties. But lots of times you don’t even comprehend that hearing loss is the reason for those communication issues. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Look out for these indicators:
- You have trouble understanding what people are saying: Many individuals don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the total volume they hear seems fine. But the thing about hearing loss is that certain frequencies of sound often go before others. Due to this, things like vowel sounds in the higher pitches can sound distorted. Consequently, you may have a tough time making out what people are saying to you.
- Phone conversations sound muddled: Even the best phone speakers have a habit of flattening a voice. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more difficult to understand conversations. It can be very challenging to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
- The volume on your devices is becoming very loud: Hearing loss could be the culprit if you continually need to crank the volume of your devices up. This is particularly true if you keep moving that volume knob higher (and even more especially true if the people around you complain about how loud your media is).
- When you’re in noisy settings, you have a tough 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 loud places, that’s usually a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This occurs 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 very easily. As a result, there’s a lot of muffled conversations.
So what can you do?
When you break a bone, it’s obvious what to do: you go see the doctor! But what do you do when you begin to detect the symptoms of hearing loss? What level of hearing loss requires 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 will be able to let you know how severe your hearing loss is.
A hearing screening will also help you get the optimal hearing aids for your needs if you do indeed need hearing aids. Then you will be able to get back to taking pleasure in 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.