Knowing when you need some medical advice is typically pretty easy. You know you need to go to the doctor immediately if you break your leg, for instance. With scenarios like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t an option. If you want your bones to heal properly, you need to get them treated as soon as possible.
It’s not always that obvious when it comes to hearing aids, though. Hearing loss is normally a progressive condition. This means recognizing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be difficult.
That’s why it’s a good idea to watch out for some particular signposts 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 loss and hearing aids
Hearing aids are the main form of treatment for hearing loss. But everybody who has some degree of hearing loss won’t necessarily need hearing aids. In situations where patients have very mild hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be practical. We might want you to hold off on using hearing aids because of this. In addition, you may be advised to wear hearing aids only in specific situations.
Essentially, the threshold for requiring hearing aids isn’t always a diagnosis of hearing loss.
However, hearing aids will be the ideal option in many situations. Because hearing loss can be a sneaky and gradual condition, many individuals don’t receive a diagnosis until there’s been significant damage. But if you come in to see us regularly, you might be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, because of this, you might not need hearing aids immediately.
So how will you know if you have hearing loss?
You need hearing aids if you recognize these signs
Hearing loss is one of those conditions that can cause instant communication issues. But lots of times you don’t even comprehend that hearing loss is the cause of those communication problems. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?
Here are a few of the typical signs you should look out for:
- When people talk, you can’t always make out what they said: Many people feel like the overall volume of life is fine so they never consider that they might have hearing loss. But hearing loss is curious, it tends to affect certain frequencies before others. Because of this, things like vowel sounds in the higher pitches can sound distorted. This could cause you to have a tough time making out what people are saying.
- You have a difficult time following conversations in loud places: This is probably one of the most prevailing symptoms of hearing loss. One of the surest indications of hearing loss is that you have trouble following conversations in noisy places, 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.
- The volume on your devices is getting very loud: If you’re constantly turning the volume up on your television or radio or smartphone, it may be due to hearing loss. If you find people around you complaining about the high volume of your devices, this is especially true.
- Phone conversations sound muffled: Even the best phone speakers tend to flatten a voice. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more difficult to understand conversations. It can be really difficult to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.
So what can you do?
Clearly, you know precisely what you have to do when you break a bone! But what do you do when you start to detect the symptoms of hearing loss? What level of hearing loss calls for hearing aids? That isn’t a really easy answer but you should schedule an appointment with us for a hearing test if you begin to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We will be able to inform you about how severe 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 for a hearing test so we can help you improve your quality of life.
