Sometimes, it’s easy to identify when you need medical help. You know you need to go see a doctor immediately if you break your leg, for example. With scenarios like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t a possibility. If you want your bones to mend correctly, you need to get them taken care of as soon as possible.
But with regard to hearing aids, it’s not always so easy to identify when it’s time to get some help. Hearing loss typically progresses very gradually over time. This means recognizing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be difficult.
That’s why it’s a good plan to keep an eye out for some distinct indicators 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 aids are the main method 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 helpful in cases of mild hearing loss. We might want you to hold off on using hearing aids as a result. It’s also possible that we could advise you to only use your hearing aids when you’re in specific situations.
Essentially, the threshold for requiring hearing aids isn’t always a hearing loss diagnosis.
However, hearing aids will be the ideal solution in many cases. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and gradual condition, many people don’t receive a diagnosis until there’s been significant damage. But if you come in for a hearing exam regularly, you might be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, as a result, you may not require hearing aids immediately.
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 cause instant communication issues. The funny thing, though, is that you don’t always comprehend that those communication obstacles are the result of hearing loss. So, at what point will a hearing aid help you?
Watch out for these signs:
- Phone conversations sound muddled: Voices usually sound a little flat on even high-quality phone speakers. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even harder to understand conversations. Again, specific frequencies are cut out and the result is that it’s very difficult to hear those voices.
- You have problems understanding what people are saying: Many individuals don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the overall volume they hear seems fine. But the thing about hearing loss is that specific frequencies of sound tend to go before others. Due to this, things like vowel sounds in the higher pitches can sound distorted. This could cause you to have a tough time making out what people are saying.
- You have a tough time following conversations in loud 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. That’s because your brain has trouble filling in the missing information that gets lost with hearing impairment. Because of this, there’s a lot of muddled conversations.
- You listen to the radio or TV at really loud volumes: Hearing loss could be the cause if you constantly need to turn the volume of your devices up. If you find individuals around you complaining about the high volume of your devices, this is particularly true.
So what can you do?
Obviously, you know exactly what you have to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you start to notice the symptoms of hearing loss? How bad does hearing loss have to be to call for a hearing aid? That isn’t a really easy answer but you should make an appointment with us for a hearing exam if you begin to detect any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to evaluate the health of your hearing and ascertain just how serious your hearing loss may or may not be.
A hearing test will also help you get the best possible 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.
Call us for a hearing test so we can help you improve your quality of life.