When is it time to get a hearing exam? You need a hearing exam if you have any of these four signs.
The other day, my kids complained about how loud my television was. And guess what I said. I said, “What”? It was humorous. Because it was a joke. But it also wasn’t. I have needed to turn the TV up louder and louder lately. And I began to ask myself: should I get a hearing test?
It really doesn’t make much sense to avoid getting a hearing assessment. Hearing assessments don’t cause you any discomfort, they’re non-invasive, and there isn’t any radiation. It’s really just that you haven’t put aside time to do it.
You should really be more vigilant about keeping track of your hearing because, if left unchecked, it can affect your general health.
Hearing assessments are important for a wide variety of reasons. It’s often difficult for you to discover the earliest signs of hearing loss without one, and even mild hearing impairment can impact your health.
So how can you recognize if you should schedule an appointment? Here are several ways to tell if you need to come see us.
Signs you should get a hearing test
If you’ve recently encountered any of the symptoms of hearing loss, it’s probably a good plan to get a professional hearing screening. Naturally, if things are hard to hear, that’s a pretty solid indication of hearing loss.
But that’s not the only indicator, and there are some signs of hearing loss that are far less obvious:
- Chronic ringing in your ears: A typical sign of injured hearing is a ringing in the ears, also called tinnitus. Ringing in the ear might or might not indicate hearing loss. But it’s definitely a sign that you should schedule a hearing test.
- It sounds like everyone’s mumbling all the time: Sometimes, it’s not loss of volume you need to worry about, it’s a loss of distinction. Difficulty making out conversations is one of the first signs that something is going bad with your hearing. It may be time for a hearing assessment if you observe this happening more and more frequently.
- You’re always missing text messages: Mobile devices are made to be loud enough for you to be able to hear. So if you’re frequently missing calls or text messages, it might be because you can’t hear them. And if you’re unable to hear your mobile device, what else are you missing?
- It’s difficult to hear in noisy places: Have you ever had a hard time following along with conversations because of ambient noise in a busy room? If this seems familiar you could be developing hearing loss. Being able to isolate sounds is one sign of healthy hearing; this ability tends to decline as hearing loss advances.
This list is not thorough, here are a few more:
- Your ear is still plugged after an ear infection
- You have an accumulation of ear wax you’re body can’t clear on your own
- You have vertigo
- You can’t easily detect where specific sounds are coming from
- You frequently use certain medications that are recognized to have an impact on your hearing.
This list is certainly not exhaustive. For instance, if your TV’s volume is at max and you still can’t hear it. But any one of these signs is worth following up on.
Routine checkups
But what if, to your awareness, you haven’t encountered any of these potential symptoms of hearing impairment? Is there a guideline for how frequently you should go get your hearing checked? With all of the other guidelines for everything, this one seems like a no-brainer. Well, yes, there are suggestions.
- Get a primary test done sometime after you’re 21. Then your mature hearing will have a standard.
- Every three years or so will be a practical schedule if your hearing seems healthy. But make sure you note these appointments in your calendar or medical records because it’s easy to forget over these huge periods of time.
- You’ll want to get checked right away if you notice any signs of hearing loss and after that once every year.
Routine examinations can help you identify hearing loss before any warning signs surface. The earlier you seek treatment, the better you’ll be able to preserve your hearing in the long run. Which means, you should probably turn your TV down and make an appointment for a hearing assessment.