In some cases, it’s easy to recognize when you need medical help. 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 a possibility. If you want your bones to mend properly, you need to get them taken care of as soon as you can.
But with regard to hearing aids, it’s not always so easy to identify when it’s time to get some assistance. Hearing loss usually progresses really gradually over time. This means recognizing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be tricky.
That’s why it’s a good plan to watch out for some distinct signposts that you might be losing your ability to communicate. If you notice any, it may be time to talk to us about your first set of hearing aids.
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. In cases where patients have very slight hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be practical. Consequently, we might want you to wait before beginning to use them. Likewise, you might be advised to wear hearing aids only in particular situations.
In other words, the threshold for needing hearing aids is not always a diagnosis of hearing loss.
However, hearing aids will be the ideal solution in many situations. Many people won’t have their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more severe because hearing loss advances slowly and often goes undetected for a while. But if you come in to see us regularly, you may be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, because of this, you might not require hearing aids immediately.
And if that’s the case, you’re probably thinking: how can I tell if I require hearing aids?
You need hearing aids if you recognize these indicators
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause immediate communication challenges. The funny thing, though, is that you don’t always realize that those communication obstacles are the result of hearing loss. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Here are some of the typical signs you should look out for:
- When people talk, you can’t always make out what they said: Many individuals don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the total volume they hear seems fine. But hearing loss is curious, it tends to impact specific frequencies before others. Because of this, things like vowel sounds in the higher register can sound distorted. Consequently, you might have a hard time making out what people are saying to you.
- You’re unable to understand people on the phone: Voices usually sound a bit flat on even high-quality phone speakers. That can make it tough to understand, particularly if you have hearing loss. It can be extremely challenging to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
- The volume on your devices is becoming really loud: Hearing loss could be the cause if you continually need to turn the volume of your devices up. If you find people around you complaining about the high volume of your devices, this is especially relevant.
- 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 a hard time hearing conversations in noisy places, that’s usually a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This occurs 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. Because of this, there’s a lot of muffled conversations.
So what can you do?
Clearly, you know precisely what you have to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you start to detect the symptoms of hearing loss? How bad does hearing loss have to be to require a hearing aid? That’s not a really easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing exam if you start to experience any hearing loss symptoms. 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 assessment will help identify 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.