When should you have your hearing tested? You need a hearing exam if you have any of these four signs.
The other day, my kids complained about how loud my TV was. You know what I said to them? I said, “What”? It was a joke. I thought it was funny. But it also wasn’t. I have needed to turn the TV up increasingly louder lately. And I began to ask myself: should I have my hearing tested?
It really doesn’t make much sense to avoid getting a hearing assessment. They’re not invasive, there’s no radiation, you don’t have to worry about discomfort. You’ve most likely just been putting it off.
You should really be more vigilant about staying on top of your hearing because, if left unchecked, it can affect your general health.
There are a lot of good reasons why hearing assessments are essential. It’s often hard for you to identify the earliest indications of hearing loss without one, and even slight hearing impairment can impact your health.
So how will you know if you should schedule an appointment? Here are some indications that it’s time.
Signs you should get a hearing test
It’s time to get a professional hearing test if you’ve been experiencing signs of hearing loss recently. Naturally, if things are difficult to hear, that’s a pretty strong indication of hearing loss.
But that’s not the only indicator, and there are some signs of hearing loss that are much less obvious:
- Persistent ringing in your ears: A typical sign of damaged hearing is a ringing in the ears, also known as tinnitus. If you’re experiencing some ringing that won’t go away, it may or may not be a sign of hearing loss. But if the ringing won’t clear itself up, you should definitely call us for a hearing assessment.
- It sounds like everybody’s always mumbling: Sometimes, it’s clearness not volume you have to worry about. One of the earlier symptoms of hearing loss is difficulty following conversations. It may be time for a hearing test if you observe this happening more and more frequently.
- You have a difficult time hearing when you’re in a noisy environment: Have you ever had a difficult time keeping up with conversations because of background noise in a busy room? If this sounds familiar you could be experiencing hearing loss. Being able to isolate sounds is one sign of a healthy ear; this ability tends to decline as hearing loss progresses.
- You’re always missing text messages: Mobile devices are manufactured to be loud enough for you to hear. So if you’re continuously missing calls or text messages, it might be because you aren’t hearing them. And if you’re unable to hear your mobile device, what else might you be missing?
Here are some other situations that indicate you should make an appointment for a hearing exam:
- You can’t easily determine where particular sounds are coming from
- You experience vertigo
- You regularly use specific medications that are known to have an effect on your hearing.
- Your ear is still plugged after an infection
- Your ears are not removing earwax thoroughly
This checklist, obviously, is not thorough. For instance, if your TV’s volume is maxed and you still can’t hear it. But any one of these signs is worth looking into.
Regular checkups
But what if, to your awareness, you haven’t encountered any of these possible symptoms of hearing loss? So how often should you get your hearing checked? There’s a guideline for everything, right, so there’s got to be a guideline for this. Well, yes, there are recommendations.
- Get a primary test done sometime after you’re 21. Then your mature hearing will have a baseline.
- Every three years or so will be a good schedule if your hearing seems healthy. But make sure you mark these appointments in your calendar or medical records because it’s easy to forget over these large periods of time.
- You’ll want to get tested right away if you detect any signs of hearing loss and after that once a year.
It will be easier to uncover any hearing loss before any red flags become obvious with regular examinations. The earlier you find treatment, the better you’ll be able to protect your hearing in the long run. Which means, you should probably turn your TV down and make an appointment for a hearing assessment.