Sometimes, it’s easy to recognize when you need medical advice. You know you need to go see a doctor immediately if you break a bone, for instance. You might need a splint or a cast or supportive device, but the thing is that you’re unlikely to try “toughing it out”. At least, not for very long (particularly if you want your bones to mend themselves correctly).
But in terms of hearing aids, it’s not always so easy to know when it’s time to get some assistance. Hearing loss is usually a progressive condition. That means it’s not always easy to know when you might need to begin wearing hearing aids or to delay seeking treatment you know could be beneficial.
So watching out for signs that your hearing is going is a good plan. It’s likely time to call us for a consultation if you do detect any.
Hearing loss and hearing aids
Hearing loss is primarily treated with hearing aids. But everyone who has some degree of hearing loss won’t automatically need hearing aids. In cases where patients have very mild hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be practical. We might want you to hold off on using hearing aids because of this. Likewise, you might be advised to wear hearing aids only in particular situations.
This means that just because you’re diagnosed with hearing loss doesn’t mean you will necessarily require hearing aids.
However, hearing aids will be the ideal solution in many circumstances. 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. Getting your hearing assessed regularly is the key to catching hearing loss early and possibly mitigating the need for hearing aids.
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 recognize these signs
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause instant communication problems. But lots of times you don’t even realize that hearing loss is the reason for those communication issues. So, at what stage will a hearing aid help?
Here are some of the typical signs you should watch out for:
- The volume on your devices is becoming really loud: Hearing loss could be the cause if you continuously need to crank the volume of your devices up. If you find individuals around you complaining about the high volume of your devices, this is especially relevant.
- When you’re in very loud settings, you have a difficult time following conversations: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one is almost always mentioned. If you have difficulty hearing conversations in loud places, that’s usually a sure sign that you have hearing loss. That’s because your brain has trouble filling in the missing information that gets lost with hearing impairment. A lot of conversations get muffled because of this.
- When people talk, you can’t always understand what they said: Many people don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the total volume they perceive seems fine. But the thing about hearing loss is that certain frequencies of sound often go before others. Which means that the great majority of sounds could seem normal but things in the high frequencies (such as certain vowels) will be distorted. As a result, you may have a difficult time understanding what people are saying to you.
- You’re unable to 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. It can be really challenging to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
So what can you do?
When you break a bone, it’s clear cut what to do: you go to the doctor! But what do you do when you start to detect the symptoms of hearing loss? How bad does hearing loss have to be to call for a hearing aid? That’s not a really easy answer but you should make an appointment with us for a hearing assessment if you begin to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to evaluate the health of your hearing and ascertain just how severe your hearing loss may or may not be.
A hearing evaluation will also help you get the most effective hearing aids for your requirements if you do indeed need hearing aids. 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.
Contact us to schedule your hearing exam, we can help you understand if you’re suffering from hearing loss.