Sometimes, it’s easy to recognize when you require medical advice. You know you need to go see a doctor immediately if you break your leg, for example. You could need a splint or a cast or supportive device, but the thing is that you’re not likely to try “toughing it out”. If you want your bones to heal properly, you need to get them taken care of as soon as possible.
But when it comes to hearing aids, it’s not always so easy to recognize when it’s time to get some assistance. Hearing loss is typically a developing condition. That means it isn’t always simple to know when you may need to begin wearing hearing aids or to put off seeking treatment you know could be beneficial.
That’s why it’s a good plan to keep an eye out for some particular indicators that you might be losing your ability to communicate. It’s likely time to call us for a consultation if you do detect any.
Hearing aids and hearing loss
Hearing loss is primarily treated with hearing aids. But that doesn’t mean everybody who has hearing loss will immediately need a set of hearing aids. In cases where patients have very slight hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be useful. We might want you to hold off on using hearing aids as a result. It’s also possible that we could instruct you to only wear your hearing aids when you’re in specific situations.
Essentially, the threshold for requiring hearing aids is not always a hearing loss diagnosis.
However, hearing aids will be the best answer in many situations. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and slow condition, lots of people don’t get a diagnosis until there’s been substantial damage. But if you come in to see us regularly, you may be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, as a result, you may not require hearing aids immediately.
And if that’s the case, you’re most likely 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 produce instant communication obstacles. The funny thing, though, is that you don’t always comprehend that those communication challenges are due to hearing loss. So, at what point will a hearing aid help?
Watch out for these signs:
- When you’re in noisy settings, you have a hard time following conversations: This is probably one of the most common symptoms of hearing loss. One of the surest indications of hearing loss is that you have difficulty following conversations in noisy places, like bars or restaurants. That’s because your brain has difficulty filling in the missing information that gets lost with hearing impairment. Because of this, there’s a lot of muddled conversations.
- Phone conversations sound muddled: Even the best phone speakers have a habit of flattening a voice. That can make it tough to understand, particularly if you have hearing loss. Once again, specific frequencies are missing and the outcome is that it’s extremely difficult to understand those voices.
- You listen to the radio or TV at really loud volumes: If you’re continuously turning up the volume on your television or radio or smartphone, it may be because of hearing loss. This is especially true if you keep turning that volume knob higher (and even more especially relevant if the people around you complain about how loud your media is).
- You have trouble making out what people are saying: Many people feel like the total volume of life is fine so they never consider that they might have hearing loss. But the thing about hearing loss is that specific frequencies of sound tend to go before others. Which means that the great majority of sounds might seem normal but things in the high frequencies (such as particular vowels) will be distorted. As a result, you may have a difficult time understanding what people are saying to you.
So how should you deal with it?
When you break your leg, it’s clear cut what to do: you go to the doctor! But what do you do when you begin 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 assessment if you start to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We will be able to inform you about how serious your hearing loss is.
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 family members and doing the things you love.
Call us to schedule your hearing test, we can help you recognize if you’re suffering from hearing loss.