Sometimes, it’s easy to know when you require medical help. You know you need to go see a 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 that long (particularly if you want your bones to repair themselves correctly).
It’s not always that clear cut in terms of hearing aids, though. Hearing loss is normally a developing condition. This means knowing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be difficult.
So watching out for indications that your hearing is going is a good plan. It’s probably time to call us for a consultation if you do detect any.
Hearing loss and hearing aids
Hearing aids are the primary method of treatment for hearing loss. But everybody who has some degree of hearing loss won’t automatically need hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be practical in cases of mild hearing loss. Because of this, we might want you to wait before beginning to use them. In addition, you might be instructed to wear hearing aids only in particular situations.
This means that just because you are diagnosed with hearing loss doesn’t mean you will necessarily need hearing aids.
However, hearing aids will be the ideal answer in many cases. Many individuals won’t get their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more severe because hearing loss develops 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 experience these signs
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can create instant communication problems. The interesting thing, though, is that you don’t always realize that those communication challenges are due to hearing loss. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Watch out for these indicators:
- When you’re in noisy settings, you have a difficult time following conversations: This is probably one of the most prevailing symptoms of hearing loss. One of the surest signs of hearing loss is that you have trouble following conversations in noisy locations, like bars or restaurants. This occurs because your ears are not getting as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really capable of filling in the gaps very easily. A lot of conversations get muffled because of this.
- You listen to the radio or TV at high levels: Hearing loss could be the culprit if you continually need to crank the volume of your devices up. If you find people around you complaining about the high volume of your devices, this is particularly relevant.
- You can’t understand people on the phone: Even the best phone speakers have a habit of flattening a voice. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more challenging to understand conversations. Once again, certain frequencies are cut out and the outcome is that it’s very difficult to hear those voices.
- When people talk, you can’t always make out what they said: Many individuals feel like the total volume of life is fine so they never imagine that they may have hearing loss. But the thing about hearing loss is that specific frequencies of sound usually go before others. Which means that the great majority of sounds may seem normal but things in the high frequencies (such as certain vowels) will be distorted. This could cause you to have a difficult time making out what people are saying.
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 detect these indications that you may need a hearing aid? What degree of hearing loss requires hearing aids? Well, that’s hard to answer, but when you start noticing these symptoms, it’s a good idea to schedule an appointment with us. We will be able to inform you about how severe your hearing loss is.
A hearing evaluation will also help you get the optimal hearing aids for your requirements if you do indeed need hearing aids. Then you will be able to get back to enjoying good conversations with your friends and family members and doing the things you love.
Call us to schedule your hearing test, we can help you recognize if you’re suffering from hearing loss.