Why is it important to have your hearing assessed on a regular basis? That’s because your overall health can be substantially affected by hearing loss. Your quality of life will be improved, your health will be enhanced, and you will get the right treatment faster if you get screened regularly.
Who should get a hearing examination?
Your health and well-being can be seriously affected by untreated hearing loss. For instance, hearing loss can result in intense social isolation. Even while carrying out tasks like going to the store, people who suffer from hearing loss will tend to avoid reaching out to friends and family because they have a difficult time understanding conversations. This kind of social isolation can be detrimental to your mental health and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, your physical wellness.
Other health concerns can be the result of neglected hearing loss also. For instance, untreated hearing loss has been linked to many chronic conditions, including cognitive decline and depression. Comorbidities, like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease have also been linked to hearing loss.
As a result, it’s generally a good plan for just about anyone to schedule a routine hearing test.
Four reasons to monitor your hearing
Getting your hearing examined can be helpful to your general health for four distinct reasons.
1. Setting a baseline for your hearing is important
Why would you want to get your hearing checked if it seems healthy? Well, getting a hearing exam early is a good idea for several reasons. The most significant is that a hearing exam will give us a precise picture of your current hearing health. If your hearing changes in the future, this will make it easier to detect. This is particularly true because hearing loss tends to develop gradually, the first symptoms are not always obvious.
Before you notice any symptoms, a hearing exam will help identify hearing loss in its early stages.
2. Early diagnosis and treatment is essential
Hearing loss normally progresses gradually over time. You’ll have a better prognosis, as a result, if you catch your hearing loss early. If you treat the condition as early as possible, you will have more positive results.
When you get treatment early it will mean doing things like using hearing protection or possibly wearing hearing aids. Many of the associated issues like dementia, social isolation, and depression can be avoided with early treatment.
3. It’s easier to evaluate 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 help you detect changes as you go along, and make changes to your treatment plan as needed.
4. Additional damage can be prevented
Most hearing loss is caused by damage, the type of damage that happens gradually and over time. Seeing us regularly to get your hearing assessed helps you detect that damage as early as possible, and it also gives you access to a significant resource: your hearing specialist. We can help you keep your hearing as healthy as possible by providing you with treatments, best practices, and information.
For instance, we can help you identify ways to safeguard your ears from day-to-day damage or establish strategies designed to help you keep sounds around you quieter.
What should my hearing test routine look like?
On the earlier side, adults should put off no longer than their early twenties to begin routine hearing exams. Unless we recommend more frequent visits or if you detect any hearing issues, at least every ten years will be the advised interval for hearing assessments.
But perhaps you’re thinking: what should I expect at my hearing exam? In general, they’re totally non-invasive procedures. Usually, you simply listen for some tones in a special pair of headphones.
We will be able to help you get the treatment you require, whether you need a set of hearing aids or you simply need to safeguard your ears. And we can help you figure out what your hearing test schedule should be.