When should you have your hearing tested? Here are four indicators that you should have your hearing tested.
The other day, my kids complained about how loud my TV was. And guess what my reply 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 perhaps it’s time for a hearing assessment.
There aren’t really that many excuses not to make an appointment for a hearing test. Hearing assessments don’t cause you any discomfort, they’re non-invasive, and there isn’t any radiation. You’ve probably just been putting it on the back-burner.
You should really be more diligent about staying on top of your hearing because, if left unchecked, it can affect your general health.
There are a lot of good reasons why hearing evaluations are essential. It’s often hard for you to observe the earliest signs of hearing loss without one, and even mild hearing impairment can affect your health.
So when should you have your hearing tested? Here are some clues that it’s time.
Signs you should have your hearing tested
If you’ve recently observed any of the signs of hearing loss, it’s definitely a good idea to get a professional hearing screening. Naturally, if things are difficult to hear, that’s a pretty strong indication of hearing loss.
But that’s not the only symptom, and there are some signs of hearing loss that are much less obvious:
- Ringing that won’t subside: Ringing in your ears, which is called tinnitus, is often a symptom of hearing damage. If you’re experiencing some ringing that won’t go away, it may or may not be a symptom of hearing loss. But it’s certainly an indication that you should get a hearing test.
- It’s tough to hear in noisy locations: Have you ever been to a busy or loud space and had difficulty hearing the conversation because of all the background noise? That may actually be a sign of hearing loss. As your hearing goes from healthy to impaired, one of the first warning signs is the loss of the ability to isolate specific sounds.
- You always miss alerts for text messages: Your phone (or mobile device, as they’re called now) is made to be loud. So if you keep finding text messages or calls that you failed to hear, 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 seems like people are mumbling when they speak: Sometimes, it’s clarity not volume you have to worry about. One of the first symptoms of hearing loss is trouble following conversations. If you notice this happening more and more, you may want to make an appointment for a hearing exam.
This list is not thorough, here are a few more:
- You frequently use specific medications that are recognized to have an impact on your hearing.
- You have vertigo
- It’s challenging to determine the origin of sounds
- you’re experiencing an ear infection and it won’t clear up
- Your ears aren’t removing earwax thoroughly
This list, obviously, isn’t thorough. There are other instances of red flags (if, for example, the volume on your TV is maxed out and you still want it to go just a little louder). But any one of these signs is worth looking into.
Regular examinations
But how should you cope with it when you’re not certain if you have any signs of hearing loss. Is there a guideline for how often you should go get your hearing checked? There’s a guideline for everything else, right, so there’s got to be a guideline for this. Well, yes, there are suggestions.
- Get a baseline test done sometime after you’re 21. That way, you’ll have a standard of your mature hearing.
- If your hearing is normal, undergo hearing examinations or tests every three years or so. But make sure you note these appointments in your calendar or medical records because it’s easy to forget over these long periods of time.
- If you show signs of hearing loss, you will want to have it tested immediately, and then yearly after that.
Routine examinations can help you discover hearing loss before any warning signs surface. You will have a better chance of preserving your hearing over time the sooner you get examined. So it’s time to pick up the phone and schedule a hearing examination.