Recognizing when you require some medical advice is normally pretty easy. You know you need to go to the doctor immediately if you break a bone, for instance. With scenarios like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t a possibility. At least, not for very long (particularly if you want your bones to mend themselves properly).
But with regard to hearing aids, it’s not always so simple to identify when it’s time to get some help. Hearing loss normally progresses really gradually over time. This means it’s not always simple to know when you may need to begin wearing hearing aids or to delay finding treatment you know could be helpful.
That’s why it’s a good idea to watch out for some distinct signposts that you might be losing your ability to communicate. If you observe any, it may be time to talk to us about your first set 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. Hearing aids won’t always be beneficial in cases of minor hearing loss. We might want you to hold off on using hearing aids as a result. It’s also feasible 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.
However, hearing aids will be the best solution in many situations. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and gradual condition, lots of individuals don’t receive a diagnosis until there’s been substantial damage. 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?
Signs you need a hearing aid
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause instant communication problems. The funny thing, though, is that you don’t always comprehend that those communication difficulties are the result of hearing loss. So, at what point will a hearing aid help?
Here are some of the typical signs you should watch out for:
- Phone conversations sound muffled: Even the highest quality 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 extremely difficult to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
- You have a tough time hearing conversations in noisy places: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one almost always comes up. If you have trouble hearing conversations in noisy 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 able to fill in the gaps very easily. Lots of conversations get muddled because of this.
- The volume on your devices is becoming really loud: If you’re always turning the volume up 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).
- You have problems understanding what people are saying: Many individuals don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the total volume they perceive seems fine. But hearing loss is curious, it tends to affect particular frequencies before others. Which means that the vast majority of sounds could seem ordinary but things in the high frequencies (like particular vowels) will be distorted. This could cause you to have a hard time making out what people are saying.
So how should you deal with it?
When you break your leg, it’s clear cut what to do: you go to the doctor! But what do you do when you start to detect the symptoms of hearing loss? 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 assessment if you begin to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We will be able to inform you about how serious your hearing loss is.
And if you do wind up needing hearing aids, a hearing test will help determine the best device for your hearing needs. 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.
Call us for a hearing exam so we can help you improve your quality of life.