Why is it worthwhile to get your hearing examined regularly? That’s because your overall health can be substantially affected by hearing loss. Having your hearing evaluated regularly can help you identify hearing loss early, get care sooner, and, improve your health, wellness, and quality of life.
Getting a hearing exam – who should do it?
Your health and well-being can be significantly affected by neglected hearing loss. For example, hearing loss can result in extreme social isolation. Discussions with family and friends can become more difficult, and individuals with hearing loss might be less likely to reach out to others, even during normal activities like shopping or going to work. This kind of social isolation can be harmful to your mental health and, possibly somewhat surprisingly, your physical well-being.
Hearing loss can cause other problems as well. Numerous chronic conditions, including depression and cognitive decline, have been associated with neglected hearing loss. Comorbidities, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease have also been associated with hearing loss.
So scheduling a routine hearing exam will be a good plan for pretty much everyone.
Four reasons to check your hearing
There are four noteworthy reasons why keeping an eye on your hearing can be beneficial to your overall health.
1. Setting a baseline for your hearing is important
Why would you want to get your hearing tested if it seems healthy? Well, there are a number of good reasons to get a hearing test early. The most significant is that a hearing test will give us an accurate picture of your present hearing health. This will make it far easier to diagnose any changes in the future. This is particularly true because hearing loss tends to develop slowly, the first symptoms aren’t always apparent.
Getting a baseline hearing test will help identify issues long before you notice them.
2. Diagnose and treat issues earlier
Hearing loss usually progresses gradually over time. You’ll have a better prognosis, as a result, if you recognize your hearing loss early. This is because you’re capable of treating the condition at the earliest possible time.
Early treatment could include anything from taking steps to safeguard your hearing such as using ear protection in noisy settings to the use of hearing aids. Treatment can help you avoid many of the related issues listed above, such as dementia, depression, and social isolation.
3. It’s easier to assess future changes
Even if you are diagnosed with hearing loss, that doesn’t mean your hearing won’t continue to get worse as you get older. Regular hearing tests can facilitate early detection and your treatment plan can be modified as needed.
4. Additional damage can be avoided
Hearing loss that develops slowly over time is usually caused by damage. Seeing us regularly to get your hearing assessed helps you identify that damage as early as possible, and it also gives you access to a substantial resource: your hearing specialist. We can help you keep your hearing as healthy as possible by providing you with treatments, best practices, and information.
We can help you determine ways to keep sounds around you quieter and also help you protect your ears from day-to-day damage.
How often should I get my hearing assessed?
On the earlier side, adults should put off no longer than their early twenties to start routine hearing tests. Unless we suggest more frequent visits or if you notice any hearing problems, at least every ten years will be the advised interval for hearing tests.
What should I expect my hearing exam to be like? Hearing exams are generally entirely non-invasive. Typically, you simply listen for some tones in a special pair of headphones.
We will be able to help you get the care you require, whether you need a pair of hearing aids or you simply need to safeguard your ears. And we can help you figure out what your hearing exam schedule should be.