When should you have your hearing tested? Here are four indicators that you should get your hearing checked.
Recently, my kids complained about how loud my TV was. You know what my response was? 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 as of late. And that got me thinking that maybe it’s time for a hearing assessment.
There aren’t all that many reasons not to make an appointment for a hearing test. Hearing tests don’t cause you any discomfort, they’re non-invasive, and there isn’t any radiation. You’ve probably just been putting it off.
Considering how much untreated hearing loss can impact your health, you really should be more vigilant about making sure your hearing loss hasn’t gotten worse.
There are lots of good reasons why hearing assessments are essential. It’s usually hard for you to discover the earliest signs of hearing loss without one, and even mild hearing loss can impact your health.
So when should you get your hearing tested? Here are some indications that it’s time.
You should get your hearing tested if you notice these signs
It’s time to get a professional hearing test if you’ve been noticing signs of hearing loss recently. Naturally, if things are difficult to hear, that’s a pretty solid indication of hearing loss.
But some of the other signs of hearing loss are more subtle:
- You’re always missing text messages: Mobile devices are made to be loud enough for you to hear. So if you keep noticing text messages or calls that you missed, it’s probably because you couldn’t hear them. And if you’re unable to hear your mobile device, what else are you missing?
- It’s difficult to hear in noisy places: Have you ever had a difficult time keeping up with conversations because of ambient noise in a crowded room? That could actually be an indication of hearing loss. As your hearing goes from healthy to impaired, one of the first signs is the loss of the ability to isolate distinct sounds.
- It sounds like everybody’s mumbling all the time: Sometimes, it’s clarity not volume you have to worry about. Trouble making out conversations is one of the first signs that something is going wrong with your hearing. It may be time for a hearing test if you notice this happening more and more frequently.
- Ringing that won’t clear itself up: A typical sign of injured hearing is a ringing in the ears, also known as tinnitus. Ringing in the ear may or may not indicate hearing loss. But if the ringing won’t stop, you should definitely come see us for a hearing test.
This list is not exhaustive, here are a few more:
- You’re experiencing episodes of vertigo
- Your ears are not removing earwax completely
- You take certain medications that can damage your hearing
- You have an ear infection and it won’t clear up
- You can’t easily determine where particular sounds are originating
This checklist, obviously, is not thorough. There are other instances of red flags (if, for example, the volume on your TV is maxed out and you still wish it could go just a little bit louder). But any one of these symptoms is worth following up on.
Regular examinations
But how should you cope with it when you’re not sure if you have any signs of hearing loss. So how frequently should you have your hearing tested? With all of the other guidelines for everything else, this one seems like a no-brainer. There are, in fact, some suggestions.
- Sometime after you turn 21, you should get a hearing assessment. That way, you’ll have a baseline of your mature hearing.
- If your hearing is healthy, have hearing screenings or tests every three years or so. That can be a long time to pay attention to, so make certain they’re noted in your medical records somewhere.
- You’ll want to get tested immediately if you notice 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 routine examinations. The earlier you obtain treatment, the better you’ll be able to protect your hearing into the future. Which means, you should probably turn down your TV and schedule a hearing examination.