Why is getting routine hearing assessments important? Well, the truth is that hearing loss can have substantial and long-term effects on your general wellness. Having your hearing evaluated regularly can help you identify hearing loss early, get care quicker, and, improve your health, wellness, and quality of life.
Getting a hearing test – who should do it?
A loss in hearing ability can create effects that can greatly impede your health and wellness. For example, hearing loss can lead to intense social isolation. Conversations with family and friends can become more difficult, and individuals who suffer from hearing loss may be less likely to reach out to other people, even during normal activities like shopping or going to work. It might not be shocking that this kind of social isolation can lead to mental health problems, but it may come as a surprise to learn that it can be detrimental to your physical health too.
Other health issues can be the result of neglected hearing loss also. Numerous chronic conditions, including depression and dementia, have been linked to untreated hearing loss. Comorbidities, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease have also been associated with hearing loss.
So scheduling a routine hearing exam will be a good strategy for pretty much everyone.
Four reasons to monitor your hearing
Getting your hearing checked can be helpful to your general health for four specific reasons.
1. You can identify the baseline for your healthy hearing
Why would you want to get your hearing checked if it seems healthy? Well, there are a number of good reasons to get a hearing exam early. Your current level of hearing can be established by a hearing exam and that’s probably the most significant thing. If your hearing changes in the future, this will make it simpler to detect. This is particularly true because hearing loss tends to advance slowly, the first symptoms aren’t always obvious.
Before you notice any symptoms, a hearing exam will help detect hearing loss in its early stages.
2. Diagnose and treat issues earlier
Hearing loss normally advances 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 outcomes.
Early treatment could include anything from taking measures to protect your hearing like wearing ear protection in loud spaces to the use of hearing aids. Many of the related issues like cognitive decline, social isolation, and depression can be avoided with early treatment.
3. Future changes will be easier to evaluate
Your hearing loss will continue to progress even after you get diagnosed. Regular hearing assessments can facilitate early detection and your treatment plan can be adjusted as needed.
4. You can prevent additional damage to your ears
Most hearing loss is caused by damage, the kind of damage that occurs slowly and over time. Visiting 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 example, we can help you figure out ways to protect your ears from day-to-day damage or establish strategies designed to help you keep sounds around you quieter.
How often should I get my hearing tested?
On the earlier side, adults should wait no longer than their early twenties to start routine hearing exams. It’s normally ordinary best practice to get a hearing test every ten years thereafter unless you detect signs of hearing loss or we suggest something more often.
What should I expect my hearing exam to be like? Hearing tests are usually entirely non-invasive. Frequently, all you do is wear special headphones and listen for a particular sound.
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 a hearing test can help you determine when the best time to get your care might be.
