According to one recent survey, nearly 30% of people have gone more than ten years without getting a hearing test. One of those people is Sofia. She goes to her yearly doctor’s appointments, she visits a dentist every six months, and she gets the oil changed in her car every 3000 miles. But she has no idea the last time she had a hearing exam or went through any sort of accurate hearing evaluation.
There are lots of reasons why it’s beneficial to get hearing exams, detecting initial symptoms of hearing loss is probably the most essential one. Knowing how frequently she should get a hearing exam will help Sofia keep her ears (and hearing) as healthy as she can for as long as possible.
How Many Times Per Year Should my Hearing be Checked?
We might be alarmed if Sophia hadn’t had a hearing exam in a decade. Or maybe we don’t think anything of it. Depending on how old Sophia is, reactions might vary. That’s because hearing specialists have different suggestions based on age.
- At least every three years, it’s recommended that you take a hearing exam. Obviously, if you think you should have your hearing examined more frequently, that’s also fine. The very least is every three years. If you are subjected to loud noise repeatedly or work in a field where noise is commonplace, you should err on the side of getting checked more frequently. There’s no reason not to do it, it’s painless and simple.
- If you’re over fifty years old: The standard suggestion is that anyone above the age of fifty should undergo hearing checks every year. As you get older, the noise damage you’ve sustained over a lifetime can begin to speed up, which means hearing loss is more likely to start impacting your life. Plus, there are other health problems that can affect your hearing.
If you want to undergo hearing screenings or tests more often, there’s obviously no harm in that, at least in terms of your hearing. The sooner you identify any issues, the more quickly you’ll be capable of addressing whatever loss of hearing that might have developed since your last hearing test.
Signs You Should Get Your Hearing Checked
There are certainly other times besides your annual hearing test that you may want to make an appointment with your hearing professional. For instance, if you notice symptoms of hearing loss. And in those situations, it’s often a good plan to promptly contact a hearing specialist and schedule a hearing test.
Some of the signs that might prompt you to get a hearing test could include:
- Trouble hearing discussions in noisy situations.
- Having a very hard time understanding people when talking on the phone, mobile or otherwise
- Having a hard time making out consonants (generally speaking, consonants are spoken in a higher pitch than vowels, and it’s those high-frequency sounds that are generally the first to go as hearing loss sets in)
- When you’re talking to people, you repeatedly need to keep asking people to speak up.
- Cranking your television or car stereo to extremely high volumes (if your neighbors start complaining, that’s a good indication you should see a hearing specialist right away).
- Sounds become muffled; it starts to sound as though you always have water in your ears.
A good indicator that right now is the best time to get a hearing test is when the warning signs start to add up. The sooner you get your hearing screened, the sooner you’ll know what’s happening with your ears.
Hearing Tests, What Are The Advantages?
Sophia may be late for her hearing exam for several reasons. Perhaps she hasn’t considered it. Possibly thinking about it is something she’s simply avoiding. But there are tangible benefits to having your hearing tested per recommendations.
Even when your hearing is totally healthy, a hearing exam can help create a baseline reading, which makes variances in the future simpler to detect. If you identify your loss of hearing before it becomes obvious, you’ll be able to safeguard it better.
That’s why Sophia needs to show up for scheduled hearing appointments before any permanent impairment happens. By detecting your hearing loss early, by getting your hearing examined when you should, you’ll be keeping your ears healthier longer. It’s essential to consider how hearing loss will impact your general state of health.