When Do I Need a Hearing Aid?

In some cases, it’s easy to know when you require medical advice. You know you need to go to the doctor immediately if you break a bone, for example. With scenarios like this, simply “toughing it out” isn’t an option. If you want your bones to mend correctly, you need to get them treated as soon as possible.

It isn’t always that obvious when it comes to hearing aids, however. Hearing loss is usually a developing condition. This means recognizing when to get treatment for hearing loss can be tricky.

So watching out for signs that your hearing may be going is a good idea. It’s probably time to call us for a consultation if you do notice any.

Hearing loss and hearing aids

Hearing aids are the main form of treatment for hearing loss. But everyone who has some degree of hearing loss won’t necessarily need hearing aids. In situations where patients have very mild hearing loss, hearing aids won’t always be helpful. We might want you to hold off on using hearing aids because of this. In addition, you may be directed to wear hearing aids only in certain situations.

This means that just because you’re diagnosed with hearing loss doesn’t mean you will automatically require hearing aids.

However, hearing aids will be the ideal option in many situations. Many individuals won’t have their hearing loss diagnosed until it becomes more severe because hearing loss advances slowly and frequently goes unnoticed for a while. But if you come in for a hearing exam regularly, you might be able to catch your hearing loss early, and, because of this, you may not require hearing aids immediately.

And if that’s the case, you’re probably thinking: how can I tell if I require hearing aids?

Signs you need a hearing aid

Immediate communication problems can be the consequence of hearing loss. The funny thing, though, is that you don’t always comprehend that those communication obstacles are due to hearing loss. So, when is it time for a hearing aid?

Here are a few of the typical signs you should watch out for:

• When you’re in noisy locations, you have a tough time following conversations: When people ask, “What are the signs of hearing loss?”, this one almost always comes up. If you have difficulty hearing conversations in loud places, that’s often a sure sign that you have hearing loss. This occurs because your ears aren’t receiving as much information as they used to, and your brain isn’t really able to fill in the gaps as easily. Because of this, there’s a lot of muffled conversations.
• You listen to the radio or TV at really loud volumes: Hearing loss could be the cause if you continuously need to turn the volume of your devices up. This is particularly true if you keep turning that volume knob higher (and even more especially relevant if the people around you complain about how loud your media is).
• You have problems making out what people are saying: Many people don’t think they have hearing loss or need hearing aids because the total volume they perceive seems fine. But the thing about hearing loss is that specific frequencies of sound often go before others. Due to this, things like vowel sounds in the higher pitches can sound distorted. This could cause you to have a difficult time understanding what people are saying.
• You can’t understand people on the phone: Even the best phone speakers have a habit of flattening a voice. If you have hearing loss, this can make it even more difficult to understand conversations. It can be extremely challenging to hear voices as a result of the loss of these frequencies.

So what should you do?

Obviously, you know exactly what you need to do when you break a bone! But what about when you detect these indications that you may need a hearing aid? How bad does hearing loss have to be to require a hearing aid? Well, that’s difficult to answer, but when you begin noticing these symptoms, it’s a good idea to schedule an appointment with us. We’ll be able to evaluate the health of your hearing and find out just how severe your hearing loss may or may not be.

A hearing screening will also help you get the optimal hearing aids for your needs if you do indeed need hearing aids. This means you’ll be able to get back to spending quality time with your friends and loved ones, you’ll hear your grandkids when they give you a call, your co-workers at your morning meeting, and your friends at the pub.

Call us to schedule your hearing exam, we can help you recognize if you’re suffering from hearing loss.