Recognizing when you require some medical advice is usually rather easy. When you break a bone, for instance, you know you should go to the doctor (or the emergency room, depending on the scenario). 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 treated as soon as possible.
It isn’t always that clear cut in terms of hearing aids, though. Hearing loss is normally a progressive condition. This means recognizing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be difficult.
That’s why it’s a good idea to watch out for some specific 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 pair of hearing aids.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
Hearing loss is mainly managed with hearing aids. But everybody who has some degree of hearing loss won’t automatically need hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be beneficial in cases of minor hearing loss. Consequently, we may want you to wait before beginning to use them. It’s also possible that we could instruct you to only use your hearing aids when you’re in certain situations.
Essentially, the threshold for requiring hearing aids isn’t always a diagnosis of hearing loss.
However, hearing aids will be the ideal solution in many circumstances. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and slow condition, many individuals don’t receive a diagnosis until there’s been considerable damage. Getting your hearing tested regularly is the key to catching hearing loss early and possibly mitigating the need for hearing aids.
And if that’s the situation, you’re most likely thinking: how can I tell if I need hearing aids?
You need hearing aids if you recognize these indicators
Instant communication issues can be the result of hearing loss. The interesting thing, though, is that you don’t always understand that those communication issues are the result of hearing loss. So, at what stage will a hearing aid help you?
Look out for these signs:
- You listen to the radio or TV at high levels: Hearing loss could be the culprit if you constantly need to turn the volume of your devices up. If you find individuals around you complaining about the loud volume of your devices, this is particularly true.
- When people talk, you can’t always understand what they said: Many individuals 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 particular frequencies before others. Which means that the great majority of sounds might seem ordinary but things in the high frequencies (such as particular vowels) will be distorted. This could cause you to have a difficult time understanding what people are saying.
- You have a tough time following conversations in loud places: This is probably one of the most prevalent symptoms of hearing loss. One of the surest indications of hearing loss is that you have trouble following conversations in loud locations, like bars or restaurants. This happens because your ears aren’t receiving as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really capable of filling in the gaps very easily. As a result, there’s a lot of muddled conversations.
- Phone conversations sound muffled: Even the best phone speakers tend to flatten a voice. That can make it hard to understand, particularly if you have hearing loss. It can be very challenging to hear voices as an outcome of the loss of these frequencies.
So what can you do?
Obviously, you know exactly what you need to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you start to notice the symptoms of hearing loss? What level of hearing loss calls for hearing aids? That isn’t a very easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing exam if you begin to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to assess the health of your hearing and determine just how severe your hearing loss may or may not be.
And if you do wind up needing hearing aids, a hearing assessment will help identify 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 hear your grandkids when they give you a call, your co-workers at your morning meeting, and your friends at happy hour.
Call us for a hearing test so we can help you improve your quality of life.
