Throughout your life, it’s a good idea to have a variety of routine health checkups and tests conducted to ensure that your body is functioning optimally. One of the tests that become increasingly important with age is a hearing test. However, you may wonder at what age you should start testing your hearing to find out if you need to use a hearing aid.
How to Know When You Need a Hearing Test
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), you should have a hearing test once every 10 years until you turn 50-years-old. Then you should have your hearing tested once every three years. If you work in a noisy environment or have concerns about your hearing (e.g., health issues that may affect your hearing) it doesn’t hurt to have it tested more frequently.
Hearing loss tends to occur gradually, so it frequently goes unnoticed and untreated. By being aware of the early signs of hearing loss you may be able to more effectively treat it with the technologies available today.
- If you want to assess how hearing loss may be impacting your life, here are a few questions you should consider:
- Is it difficult to hear the television? Do people say you have the TV too loud?
- Is it difficult to hear or understand what other people are saying?
- Is it hard to follow a conversation when you’re in a noisy environment (e.g., a restaurant, church, business meeting…)?
- Are you experiencing a sensation in your ears that isn’t caused by an external source (e.g., ringing, humming, buzzing, whooshing)?
- Are you using the phone less because you’re struggling to hear on it?
- Have your issues with hearing caused you to limit socialization?
- Have you been struggling to hear sounds like alarm clocks, turn signals in your car, doorbells, or knocking?
- Do you frequently ask people to repeat themselves?
If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, it’s time to get a hearing test.
Getting a Hearing Test
Hearing tests are both easy and painless. They’re an important part of staying on top of your hearing health and discovering if you need hearing aids. If you don’t need one, great, you can wait for a few more years to have your hearing tested again.
Preparing for Your Hearing Exam
The best way to get the most out of your exam, it’s a good idea to take a few minutes to prepare for it. Simply spend some time considering:
- Do you have a history of hearing loss in your family?
- Do you have any significant health issues that may affect your hearing?
- Are you taking any medications that may affect your hearing?
- Are you experiencing any symptoms of hearing loss?
- Have you worked around loud noises or have you been exposed to gunfire?
The more information you’re able to share with your hearing care professional, the better they’ll be able to help you.
Attending Your Hearing Exam
Your hearing evaluation starts with looking at your ear canal to see if there are any physical signs of damage. You’ll also undergo hearing threshold and speech discrimination tests to help pinpoint your degree of hearing loss.
If you’re in doubt of whether you need hearing aids, contact us here at Countryside Hearing Aid Services in Pinellas County, FL. You don’t have anything to lose by having an appointment with us. In fact, you may have a lot to gain so schedule your appointment today.
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