In some cases, it’s easy to know when you require medical help. You know you need to go to the doctor immediately if you break a bone, for instance. With situations like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t a possibility. At least, not for very long (especially if you want your bones to repair themselves properly).

But with regard to hearing aids, it isn’t always so easy to recognize when it’s time to get some assistance. Hearing loss usually advances really slowly over time. That means it’s not always simple to know when you may need to start wearing hearing aids or to put off seeking treatment you know could be beneficial.

That’s why it’s a good plan to watch out for some distinct indicators that you may be losing your ability to communicate. If you detect any, it might be time to talk to us about your first pair of hearing aids.

Hearing loss and hearing aids

Hearing aids are the main 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 mild hearing loss. We may want you to hold off on using hearing aids as a result. In addition, you may be instructed to wear hearing aids only in certain situations.

In other words, the threshold for needing hearing aids is not always a diagnosis of hearing loss.

But in many cases hearing aids will be the best option. Many people won’t get their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more serious because hearing loss develops gradually and often goes unnoticed for a while. But if you come in to see us regularly, you may be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, as a result, you might not need hearing aids immediately.

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. The curious thing, though, is that you don’t always understand that those communication difficulties are the result of hearing loss. So, at what point will a hearing aid help you?

Here are a few of the typical signs you should look out for:

• When you’re in very loud settings, you have a tough time following conversations: This is probably one of the most common symptoms of hearing loss. If you have difficulty 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. Because of this, there’s a lot of muddled conversations.
• Phone conversations sound muddled: 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 people speak, you can’t always make out what they said: Many people feel like the overall volume of life is fine so they never imagine that they may have hearing loss. But the thing about hearing loss is that particular frequencies of sound often go before others. Which means that the vast majority of sounds could seem normal but things in the high frequencies (like particular vowels) will be distorted. This could cause you to have a difficult time understanding what people are saying.
• The volume on your devices is becoming very loud: If you’re continuously turning the volume up on your television or radio or smartphone, it may be because of hearing loss. This is particularly true if you keep moving that volume knob higher (and even more especially relevant if the people around you complain about how loud your media is).

So what can you do?

When you break your leg, it’s clear cut what to do: you go to the doctor! But what about when you experience these signs that you might need a hearing aid? How bad does hearing loss have to be to require a hearing aid? That isn’t a very easy answer but you should make an appointment with us for a hearing test if you start to notice any hearing loss symptoms. We will be able to inform you about how serious your hearing loss is.

A hearing evaluation will also help you get the optimal hearing aids for your needs if you do indeed need hearing aids. This means you’ll be able to get back to spending quality time with your friends and family, you’ll understand your grandkids when they call you on the phone, your co-workers at your morning meeting, and your friends at happy hour.

Give us a call to schedule your hearing exam, we can help you recognize if you’re suffering from hearing loss.