Recognizing when you need some medical advice is usually rather easy. When you break your leg, for example, you know you should go to the doctor (or the emergency room, depending on the situation). You might 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 that long (particularly if you want your bones to repair themselves properly).
But with regard to hearing aids, it’s not always so easy to recognize when it’s time to get some help. Hearing loss is usually a progressive condition. This means knowing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be difficult.
That’s why it’s a good plan to keep an eye out for some specific indicators that you may be losing your ability to communicate. If you detect any, it might be time to talk to us about your first pair of hearing aids.
Hearing loss and hearing aids
Hearing loss is mainly managed with hearing aids. But that doesn’t mean everybody who has hearing loss will instantly need a set of hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be beneficial in cases of mild hearing loss. Because of this, we may want you to wait before beginning 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.
However, hearing aids will be the best solution in many situations. Many individuals won’t have their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more severe because hearing loss progresses slowly and frequently goes undetected for a while. But if you come in to see us regularly, you might be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, because of this, you may not require hearing aids immediately.
And if that’s the case, you’re probably thinking: how can I tell if I require hearing aids?
Indications you need a hearing aid
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can produce instant communication obstacles. But a lot of times you don’t even comprehend that hearing loss is the reason for those communication problems. So, at what point will a hearing aid help?
Here are some of the typical signs you should look out for:
- The volume on your devices is becoming really loud: Hearing loss could be the culprit if you constantly 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: Even the highest quality phone speakers have a habit of flattening a voice. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even harder to understand conversations. Again, specific frequencies are cut out and the result is that it’s extremely difficult to hear those voices.
- You have difficulty making out what people are saying: 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 funny, it tends to affect certain frequencies before others. Which means that the vast majority of sounds could seem normal but things in the high frequencies (like certain vowels) will be distorted. Consequently, you might have a hard time understanding what people are saying to you.
- You have a hard time hearing conversations in loud places: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one is almost always mentioned. One of the surest indications of hearing loss is that you have difficulty following conversations in noisy places, 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 as easily. A lot of conversations get muddled as a result.
So what should you do?
When you break your leg, it’s clear cut what to do: you go to the doctor! But what about when you notice these signs that you might need a hearing aid? How severe does hearing loss have to be to call for a hearing aid? That’s not a really easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing assessment if you start to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We will be able to inform you about how severe your hearing loss is.
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 spending quality time 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 the pub.
Call us to schedule your hearing exam, we can help you understand if you’re suffering from hearing loss.