Knowing when you require some medical advice is usually fairly easy. When you break a bone, 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 heal properly, you need to get them treated as soon as possible.
It’s not always that obvious with regard to hearing aids, though. Hearing loss normally progresses very gradually over time. This means it isn’t always simple to know when you may need to start using hearing aids or to delay finding treatment you know could be beneficial.
So watching out for signs that your hearing may be going is a good idea. It’s likely time to call us for a consultation if you do detect any.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
Hearing aids are the main form of treatment for hearing loss. But that doesn’t mean everybody who has hearing loss will immediately need a pair of hearing aids. In situations where patients have very minor hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be helpful. We may want you to hold off on using hearing aids because of this. In addition, you may be advised to wear hearing aids only in specific situations.
Essentially, the threshold for requiring hearing aids is not always a diagnosis of hearing loss.
However, hearing aids will be the best option in many instances. Many individuals won’t get their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more serious because hearing loss advances gradually and often goes undetected for a while. But if you come in to see us regularly, you might be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, because of this, you may not require hearing aids right away.
And if that’s the case, you’re most likely thinking: how can I tell if I need hearing aids?
You need hearing aids if you detect these signs
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can create immediate communication issues. But a lot of times you don’t even comprehend that hearing loss is the cause of those communication issues. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Here are a few of the typical signs you should watch out for:
- When people speak, you can’t always make out what they said: Many people 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 particular frequencies of sound tend to go before others. Which means that the great majority of sounds might seem normal but things in the high frequencies (like particular vowels) will be distorted. This could cause you to have a tough time making out what people are saying.
- The volume on your devices is becoming really loud: If you’re constantly turning up the volume on your television or radio or smartphone, it may be the result of hearing loss. If you find individuals around you complaining about the loud volume of your devices, this is particularly relevant.
- You have a tough time hearing conversations in loud places: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one is almost always mentioned. If you have a hard time hearing conversations in loud places, that’s often a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This happens 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 as easily. Because of this, there’s a lot of muffled conversations.
- Phone conversations sound muffled: Voices usually sound a bit flat on even high-quality phone speakers. That can make it difficult to understand, especially if you have hearing loss. Once again, certain frequencies are missing and the result is that it’s really hard to understand those voices.
So how should you deal with it?
Clearly, you know precisely what you need to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you begin to notice the symptoms of hearing loss? What degree of hearing loss calls for hearing aids? Well, that’s difficult to answer, but when you begin experiencing these symptoms, it’s a good plan to schedule an appointment with us. We will be able to let you know how severe your hearing loss is.
And if you do end up needing hearing aids, a hearing exam will help determine the best device for your hearing needs. This means you’ll be able to get back to communicating with your friends and loved ones, you’ll understand your grandkids when they call you on the phone, your co-workers at your morning meeting, and your friends at the pub.
Give us a call to schedule your hearing exam, we can help you recognize if you’re suffering from hearing loss.