Sometimes, it’s easy to identify when you need medical advice. You know you need to go to the doctor right away if you break your leg, for example. With scenarios like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t an option. At least, not for very long (particularly if you want your bones to mend themselves properly).
It’s not always that obvious with regard to hearing aids, however. Hearing loss is typically a developing condition. This means recognizing 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 distinct indicators that you may be losing your ability to communicate. It’s likely time to call us for a consultation if you do detect any.
Hearing loss and hearing aids
Hearing aids are the primary form of treatment for hearing loss. But that doesn’t mean everyone who has hearing loss will immediately need a set of hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be practical in cases of mild hearing loss. As a result, we may want you to wait before starting to use them. In addition, you might be advised to wear hearing aids only in certain situations.
Essentially, the threshold for needing hearing aids is not always a hearing loss diagnosis.
However, hearing aids will be the ideal solution in many instances. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and gradual condition, lots of people don’t receive a diagnosis until there’s been considerable damage. But if you come in for a hearing exam regularly, you may be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, because of this, you might not need hearing aids immediately.
And if that’s the situation, you’re most likely thinking: how can I tell if I need hearing aids?
Indications you need a hearing aid
Immediate communication issues can be the consequence of hearing loss. The interesting thing, though, is that you don’t always understand that those communication difficulties are the result of hearing loss. So, at what point will a hearing aid help?
Look out for these indicators:
- You have difficulty making out what people are saying: Many people feel like the overall volume of life is fine so they never consider that they might have hearing loss. But the thing about hearing loss is that certain frequencies of sound usually go before others. Which means that the vast majority of sounds might seem normal but things in the high frequencies (like certain vowels) will be distorted. As a result, you might have a tough time understanding what people are saying to you.
- You have a difficult time hearing conversations in loud places: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one almost always comes up. One of the surest signs of hearing loss is that you have trouble following conversations in loud locations, like bars or restaurants. That’s because your brain has a hard time filling in the missing information that you lose when you have hearing impairment. Because of this, there’s a lot of muddled conversations.
- Phone conversations sound muddled: Even the highest quality phone speakers tend to flatten a voice. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even harder to understand conversations. It can be really difficult to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
- The volume on your devices is becoming very loud: Hearing loss could be the cause 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 especially true.
So what should you do?
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? What level of hearing loss calls for hearing aids? That’s not a really easy answer but you should make an appointment with us for a hearing assessment if you start to detect any hearing loss symptoms. We’ll be able to evaluate the health of your hearing and determine just how severe your hearing loss may or may not be.
And if you do end up needing hearing aids, a hearing test 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 loved ones and doing the things you love.
Give us a call to schedule your hearing exam, we can help you recognize if you’re suffering from hearing loss.