In some cases, it’s easy to recognize when you require medical help. When you break a bone, for example, you know you should go to the doctor (or the emergency room, depending on the situation). 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 mend properly, you need to get them treated as soon as you can.
But when it comes to hearing aids, it isn’t always so simple to identify when it’s time to get some help. Hearing loss is typically a developing condition. That means it isn’t always simple to know when you may need to start using hearing aids or to delay seeking treatment you know could be helpful.
So watching out for signs that your hearing is going is a good idea. If you detect any, it may be time to consult 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 set of hearing aids. Hearing aids won’t always be beneficial in cases of minor hearing loss. We may want you to hold off on using hearing aids because of this. It’s also possible that we could direct you to only use your hearing aids when you’re in particular 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 cases. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and gradual condition, lots of people don’t get a diagnosis until there’s been substantial damage. Getting your hearing tested regularly is the key to catching hearing loss early and possibly mitigating the need for hearing aids.
So how will you know if you have hearing loss?
Signs you need a hearing aid
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause immediate communication difficulties. 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?
Look out for these indicators:
- 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 almost always comes up. One of the surest signs of hearing loss is that you have difficulty following conversations in noisy places, like bars or restaurants. That’s because your brain has trouble filling in the missing information that you lose when you have hearing impairment. As a result, there’s a lot of muddled conversations.
- When people talk, you can’t always understand what they said: Many people don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the overall volume they hear seems fine. But hearing loss is funny, it tends to impact specific frequencies before others. Because of this, things like vowel sounds in the higher pitches can sound distorted. Consequently, you may have a difficult time understanding what people are saying to you.
- Phone conversations sound muffled: Voices usually sound a bit flat on even high-quality phone speakers. That can make it tough to understand, especially if you have hearing loss. It can be really challenging to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
- You listen to the radio or TV at really loud levels: Hearing loss could be the culprit if you continually need to turn 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).
So how should you deal with it?
When you break a bone, it’s obvious what to do: you go to the doctor! But what about when you experience these indications that you might need a hearing aid? What degree of hearing loss requires hearing aids? Well, that’s difficult to answer, but when you begin experiencing these symptoms, it’s a good idea to make an appointment with us. We’ll be able to assess the health of your hearing and ascertain just how serious your hearing loss may or may not be.
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 communicating with your friends and family, you’ll understand your grandkids when they give you a call, your co-workers at your morning meeting, and your friends at happy hour.
Give us a call to schedule your hearing test, we can help you understand if you’re suffering from hearing loss.