Knowing when you need some medical advice is normally rather easy. When you break your leg, for example, 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 heal correctly, you need to get them treated as soon as possible.
It isn’t always that obvious in terms of hearing aids, though. Hearing loss normally progresses very slowly over time. This means knowing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be tricky.
That’s why it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for some particular indicators that you may be losing your ability to communicate. It’s likely time to call us for a consultation if you do notice 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 instantly need a set of hearing aids. In cases where patients have very slight hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be useful. Because of this, we may want you to wait before starting to use them. It’s also possible that we could advise you to only wear your hearing aids when you’re in specific situations.
Essentially, the threshold for needing hearing aids is not always a hearing loss diagnosis.
However, hearing aids will be the best solution in many instances. Many people won’t get 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 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 right away.
And if that’s the case, you’re most likely thinking: how can I tell if I require hearing aids?
Signs you need a hearing aid
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause instant communication obstacles. The funny thing, though, is that you don’t always understand that those communication challenges are the result of hearing loss. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Watch out for these indicators:
- Phone conversations sound muffled: Even the highest quality 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 very difficult to hear voices as an outcome of the loss of these frequencies.
- When you’re in noisy settings, you have a tough time following conversations: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one is almost always mentioned. If you have a hard time hearing conversations in loud places, that’s often a sure sign that you have hearing loss. That’s because your brain has difficulty filling in the missing information that gets lost with hearing impairment. A lot of conversations get muddled as a result.
- You listen to the radio or TV at really loud levels: Hearing loss could be the cause if you continuously need to turn the volume of your devices up. If you find people around you complaining about the high volume of your devices, this is especially relevant.
- When people speak, you can’t always understand what they said: Many individuals don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the total volume they hear seems fine. But hearing loss is funny, it tends to impact certain frequencies before others. Because of this, things like vowel sounds in the higher register can sound distorted. As a result, you may have a difficult time making out what people are saying to you.
So how should you deal with it?
Clearly, you know exactly what you need to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you begin to notice the symptoms of hearing loss? What level of hearing loss requires hearing aids? Well, that’s difficult to answer, but when you start noticing these signs, it’s a good plan to schedule an appointment with us. 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. Then you will be able to get back to enjoying good conversations with your friends and loved ones and doing the things you love.
Call us for a hearing exam so we can help you improve your quality of life.