Recognizing when you require some medical advice is typically pretty easy. You know you need to go see a doctor immediately if you break a bone, for instance. You may need a splint or a cast or supportive device, but the thing is that you’re not likely to try “toughing it out”. At least, not for very long (especially if you want your bones to mend themselves properly).
But with regard to hearing aids, it’s not always so easy to identify when it’s time to get some help. Hearing loss normally advances really gradually over time. This means knowing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be tricky.
That’s why it’s a good plan to keep an eye out for some specific signposts that you might be losing your ability to communicate. If you observe any, it may be time to consult us about your first set of hearing aids.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
Hearing aids are the main method of treatment for hearing loss. But everybody who has some degree of hearing loss won’t necessarily need hearing aids. In situations where patients have very mild hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be helpful. As a result, we may want you to wait before starting to use them. It’s also possible that we could direct you to only wear your hearing aids when you’re in particular situations.
This means that just because you are diagnosed with hearing loss doesn’t mean you will automatically require hearing aids.
But in many cases hearing aids will be the best answer. Many individuals won’t have their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more serious because hearing loss advances gradually and frequently goes unnoticed for a while. But if you come in for a hearing exam 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 situation, you’re probably thinking: how can I tell if I require hearing aids?
Signs you need a hearing aid
Instant communication challenges can be the result of hearing loss. The curious thing, though, is that you don’t always realize that those communication difficulties are due to hearing loss. So, at what point will a hearing aid help you?
Look out for these signs:
- The volume on your devices is becoming very loud: Hearing loss could be the cause if you continuously need to crank the volume of your devices up. This is especially true if you keep turning that volume knob higher (and even more especially true if the people around you complain about how loud your media is).
- You’re unable to understand people on the phone: Voices typically sound a little flat on even high-quality phone speakers. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even harder to understand conversations. Once again, certain frequencies are cut out and the outcome is that it’s extremely hard to understand those voices.
- You have a difficult time following conversations in loud places: This is probably one of the most prevalent symptoms of hearing loss. If you have difficulty hearing conversations in loud places, that’s usually a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This happens because your ears are not receiving as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really able to fill in the gaps as easily. A lot of conversations get muffled because of this.
- When people speak, you can’t always make out what they said: Many people don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the overall volume they perceive seems fine. But hearing loss is curious, it tends to affect specific frequencies before others. Due to this, things like vowel sounds in the higher pitches can sound distorted. As a result, you may have a difficult time making out what people are saying to you.
So how should you deal with it?
Obviously, you know exactly what you need to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you begin to experience the symptoms of hearing loss? How severe does hearing loss have to be to require a hearing aid? That isn’t a very easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test if you start to experience any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to assess the health of your hearing and ascertain just how severe your hearing loss may or may not be.
And if you do end up needing hearing aids, a hearing exam 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 family members and doing the things you love.
Call us to schedule your hearing exam, we can help you understand if you’re suffering from hearing loss.