When should you have your hearing tested? Here are four clues that you need to have your hearing assessed.
Recently, my kids complained about how loud my television was. And guess what my reply was. I said, “What”? It was funny. Because it was a joke. But it also wasn’t. I have needed to turn the TV up louder and louder lately. And I started to ask myself: should I get a hearing test?
There aren’t really that many excuses not to schedule yourself for a hearing exam. Hearing assessments don’t cause you any discomfort, they’re non-invasive, and there isn’t any radiation. It’s really just that you haven’t made time for it.
Considering how much neglected hearing loss can affect your health, you really should be more diligent about making sure your hearing loss hasn’t worsened.
There are lots of good reasons why hearing evaluations are essential. Even slight hearing loss can have an affect on your health and it’s almost impossible to identify early hearing loss without a hearing examination.
So when should you have your hearing tested? Here are some indications that it’s time.
Signs you should get a hearing test
It’s time to get a professional hearing assessment if you’ve been noticing symptoms of hearing loss recently. Clearly, it’s a strong indication of hearing loss if you’re having a difficult time hearing.
But some of the other indications of hearing loss are more subtle:
- It seems like people are mumbling when they talk: In some cases, it’s not loss of volume you have to be concerned with, it’s a loss of definition. One of the first indications of hearing loss is difficulty making out conversations. It may be time for a hearing exam if you observe this happening more and more frequently.
- You’re always missing text messages: Your cellphone (or mobile device, as they’re called these days) is made to be loud. So if you keep finding text messages or calls that you missed, it’s probably because you didn’t hear them. And perhaps, when you think about it, you’re failing to hear more everyday sounds.
- Persistent ringing in your ears: Ringing in your ears, which is called tinnitus, is frequently a symptom of hearing damage. If you’re dealing with 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 evaluation.
- It’s difficult to hear in noisy places: Have you ever had a hard time following along with conversations because of ambient noise in a busy room? If this seems familiar you could be experiencing hearing loss. Being able to identify sounds is one indication of healthy hearing; this ability tends to diminish as hearing loss advances.
This list isn’t exhaustive, here are a few more:
- Your ear hasn’t cleared after an ear infection
- You can’t readily determine where specific sounds are coming from
- You’re experiencing episodes of vertigo
- You regularly use specific medications that are known to have an impact on your hearing.
- You have a buildup of ear wax you’re body can’t clear by itself
This checklist, clearly, is not extensive. There are other examples of warning signs (if, for instance, the volume on your TV is maxed out and you still wish it could go just a little louder). But any one of these signs is worth following up on.
Routine examinations
But what if, to your awareness, you haven’t encountered any of these possible signs of hearing loss? So how frequently should you have your hearing tested? With all of the other guidelines for everything, this one seems like a no-brainer. There are, actually, some suggestions.
- Sometime after you turn 21, you need to get a hearing test. That way, you’ll have a baseline of your mature hearing.
- If your hearing is healthy, have hearing examinations or tests every three years or so. That can be a huge chunk of time to pay attention to, so make certain they’re noted in your medical records somewhere.
- If you notice signs of hearing loss, you will want to get it tested immediately, and then yearly after that.
Routine examinations can help you discover hearing loss before any warning signs surface. The earlier you obtain treatment, the better you’ll be able to preserve your hearing into the future. Which means, you should probably turn down your TV and schedule a hearing assessment.
