You know you’re feeling cranky these days but you’re not exactly certainly why. Well, it was frustrating earlier this morning when you felt left out of the meeting at work. Your daughter got up and suddenly left the house after becoming frustrated when you kept asking her to turn the volume on the TV up. Why would she do that?
Did you ever stop to think that perhaps you could be suffering from hearing loss?
As you age hearing loss can take you by surprise and over 40 million individuals in the US suffer with it. And the issue goes beyond just your ears. Research shows that even slight hearing loss puts you at risk for memory issues, dementia, and even depression. What you might believe is just an indication of age, could actually be a treatable medical problem. Maybe, you missed essential conversational cues and your coworkers didn’t actually exclude you from the meeting after all. The truth is, if you can’t hear very well during your everyday life, it can become incredibly frustrating.
Get the facts about hearing loss
Learning a little more about what you’re struggling with is a practical place to start. For many individuals, hearing loss is a normal side effect of getting older. But for other people, it might be due to years of noise overexposure. Noise-induced hearing loss can be a result of many noise sources, including mowing the lawn and leaf blowing, listening to loud music, and driving in heavy traffic with the window down. The world is full of potentially ear-damaging sound that can deteriorate the fragile mechanisms that help you hear.
Another potential cause of hearing loss is chronic disease that becomes more common with age. When you have conditions that cause problems with your blood pressure, your inner ear can become damaged.
Recognize the signs
People usually take their hearing for granted, so when it begins to fail they don’t notice the signs:
- You regularly feel like you are being left out of the discussions
- You regularly say “what” and often need people to repeat themselves
- Struggling to comprehend words when there’s background noise like a fan or the AC
Obviously, you’d be cranky if you’ve been struggling with any of these symptoms! Depression and social solitude can be the outcome of feeling detached from your world.
Treating hearing loss
One of the initial things you can do is ask family and friends if they have observed you having a difficult time hearing. It may seem like a difficult talk but it’s a really important one. If if they answer ‘yes’ then scheduling a hearing test should be your next step and will simplify things for you. Try to get a family member to go along with you to your exam. A supportive, calming presence can be really helpful.
Your hearing examination will not only help to establish your hearing loss but it will also gauge the degree of it. If hearing loss is established, we will advise the next strategy for you based on the results of the test. In the majority of instances, that will entail getting hearing aids. You’ll certainly be able to get a set of hearing aids that will best fit your situation since there are so many styles and options to pick from.
How to select quality hearing aids
We’ll have suggestions that will be best suited for your distinct type of hearing loss. You will probably need to test several brands and models before you determine the best fit for your particular taste and hearing requirements. Today’s hearing aids do lots more than simply amplify sound. They can identify the direction that sound is coming from, block out background sound, and even connect to smartphones and computers. Different brands and types of hearing aids come with different features, so do some research to determine what features you need to better your life.
Also, don’t forget to think about styles. Some models have no color and are virtually invisible and other models come in vibrant colors.
Schedule a hearing test with our qualified hearing specialists right away if you believe you might be suffering with hearing loss. It’s time to get out of that grumpy mindset and we can help!
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References
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/
