In some cases, it’s easy to identify when you require medical advice. When you break your leg, for example, you know you should go to the doctor (or the emergency room, depending on the situation). You may need a splint or a cast or supportive device, but the point is that you’re not likely to try “toughing it out”. If you want your bones to heal correctly, you need to get them treated as soon as you can.
It’s not always that obvious when it comes to hearing aids, however. Hearing loss usually progresses very gradually over time. That means it’s not 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 idea to watch out for some specific signposts that you might be losing your ability to communicate. If you detect any, it may be time to talk to us about your first pair of hearing aids.
Hearing loss and hearing aids
Hearing aids are the primary method of treatment for hearing loss. But that doesn’t mean everybody who has hearing loss will instantly need a pair of hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be beneficial in cases of minor hearing loss. Because of this, we might want you to wait before beginning to use them. Likewise, you may be advised to wear hearing aids only in certain situations.
This means that just because you’re diagnosed with hearing loss doesn’t mean you will necessarily require hearing aids.
But in many cases hearing aids will be the best answer. Many people won’t have their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more severe because hearing loss develops gradually and frequently goes unnoticed 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 probably thinking: how can I tell if I need hearing aids?
Indications you need a hearing aid
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can produce instant communication challenges. The interesting thing, though, is that you don’t always realize that those communication obstacles are caused by hearing loss. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Here are some of the typical signs you should watch out for:
- The volume on your devices is getting really loud: Hearing loss could be the culprit 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 true.
- You have difficulty understanding what people are saying: Many individuals don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the overall volume they hear seems fine. But hearing loss is curious, it tends to affect certain frequencies before others. Which means that the vast majority of sounds may seem normal but things in the high frequencies (such as certain vowels) will be distorted. As a result, you may have a hard time understanding what people are saying to you.
- When you’re in very loud locations, you have a hard time following conversations: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one almost always comes up. One of the surest indications of hearing loss is that you have trouble following conversations in loud settings, like bars or restaurants. That’s because your brain has trouble 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: Voices usually sound a little flat on even high-quality phone speakers. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more difficult to understand conversations. Once again, certain frequencies are missing and the result is that it’s very difficult to hear those voices.
So how should you deal with it?
Obviously, you know exactly what you need to do when you break a bone! But what about when you experience these signs that you may need a hearing aid? How bad does hearing loss need to be to call for a hearing aid? Well, that’s difficult to answer, but when you start experiencing these symptoms, it’s a good idea to make 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 test will help identify 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.
Call us for a hearing test so we can help you improve your quality of life.
