When should you have your hearing tested? Here are four indicators that you need to get your hearing tested.
Recently, my kids complained about how loud my television was. Do you know what my response was? I said, “What”? It was a joke. I thought it was funny. But, in some ways, it was anything but funny. I have needed to turn the TV up louder and louder as of late. And that got me thinking that perhaps it’s time for a hearing assessment.
There aren’t really that many reasons not to schedule yourself for a hearing test. Hearing assessments don’t cause you any discomfort, they’re non-invasive, and there isn’t any radiation. You’ve probably just been putting it on the back-burner.
Considering how much neglected hearing loss can affect your health, you really should be more vigilant about making sure your hearing loss hasn’t gotten worse.
There are a lot of good reasons why hearing evaluations are important. Even mild hearing loss can have an impact on your health and it’s almost impossible to detect early hearing loss without a hearing assessment.
So when should you have a hearing test? Here are several ways to tell if you need to consult with us.
You should have your hearing tested if you experience these signs
It’s time to get a professional hearing test if you’ve been experiencing symptoms of hearing loss recently. Obviously, if things are hard to hear, that’s a pretty strong indication of hearing loss.
But some of the other indications of hearing loss are more subtle:
- You’re always missing text messages: Mobile devices are manufactured to be loud enough for you to hear. So if you keep finding text messages or calls that you missed, it’s probably because you couldn’t hear them. And if you can’t hear your mobile device, what else are you missing?
- Ringing that won’t go away: A common sign of damaged hearing is a ringing in the ears, also called tinnitus. Ringing in the ear may or may not point to hearing loss. But if the ringing won’t go away, you should absolutely call us for a hearing assessment.
- You have a tough time hearing when you’re in a loud environment: Have you ever been to a crowded or noisy space and had trouble hearing the conversation because of all the ambient noise? That may actually be a sign of hearing loss. Being able to identify sounds is one sign of a healthy ear; this ability tends to decline as hearing loss worsens.
- It sounds like everyone’s always mumbling: Sometimes, it’s not loss of volume you have to be concerned with, it’s a loss of definition. One of the first symptoms of hearing loss is trouble following conversations. If you experience this happening more and more, you may want to schedule a hearing test.
This list isn’t thorough, here are a few more:
- You’re experiencing episodes of vertigo
- Your ears are not clearing earwax completely
- Your ear hasn’t cleared after an ear infection
- You frequently use certain medications that are recognized to have an effect on your hearing.
- You can’t readily identify where particular sounds are coming from
This checklist, obviously, isn’t complete. For example, if your TV’s volume is maxed and you still can’t hear it. It would be a good plan to look into any of these signs.
Routine checkups
But how should you deal with it when you’re not certain if you have any symptoms of hearing loss. Is there a guideline for how frequently you should go get your hearing checked? There’s a guideline for everything else, right, so there’s got to be a guideline for this. Well, yes, there are recommendations.
- Get a baseline test done sometime after you’re 21. Then your mature hearing will have a baseline.
- If your hearing is normal, have hearing examinations or tests every three years or so. That can be a long time to pay attention to, so make sure they’re noted in your medical records somewhere.
- You’ll want to get checked right away if you detect any signs of hearing loss and after that once every year.
It will be easier to discover any hearing loss before any red flags become apparent with routine examinations. You will have a better chance of protecting your hearing over time the sooner you get checked. So it’s time to give us a call and schedule a hearing assessment.