When should you have your hearing tested? Here are four indicators that you should have your hearing checked.
I guess my TV is regularly cranked up to the point where my kids recently complained. You know what my response was? I said, “What”? It was a joke. I thought it was amusing. But it also wasn’t. The TV has been getting louder and louder. And I began to ask myself: should I get a hearing test?
There aren’t really that many excuses not to make an appointment for a hearing exam. Hearing assessments don’t cause you any discomfort, they’re non-invasive, and there isn’t any radiation. It’s really just that you haven’t put aside time to do it.
Considering how much untreated hearing loss can affect your health, you really should be more diligent about making sure your hearing loss hasn’t gotten worse.
There are a lot of good reasons why hearing evaluations are essential. It’s often challenging for you to discover the earliest signs of hearing loss without one, and even slight hearing loss can affect your health.
So how will you know if you should make an appointment? Here are some signs that it’s time.
Signs you should have your hearing tested
If you’ve recently encountered any of the symptoms of hearing loss, it’s definitely a smart idea to get a professional hearing screening. Clearly, it’s a strong indication of hearing loss if you’re having a hard time hearing.
But that’s not the only symptom, and there are some signs of hearing loss that are much less obvious:
- You’re always missing text messages: Mobile devices are made to be loud enough for you to be able to hear. So if you keep finding text messages or calls that you failed to hear, it’s most likely because you didn’t hear them. And if you can’t hear your mobile device, what else might you be missing?
- You have a hard time hearing when you’re in a noisy setting: Have you ever been to a busy or loud room and had difficulty following the conversation because of all the ambient noise? If this seems familiar you could be experiencing hearing loss. Being able to identify sounds is one sign of healthy hearing; this ability tends to wane as hearing loss progresses.
- It sounds like everybody’s mumbling all the time: In some cases, it’s not loss of volume you have to worry about, it’s a loss of distinction. One of the first indications of hearing loss is trouble following conversations. It might be time for a hearing exam if you observe this occurring more and more frequently.
- Ringing that won’t clear itself up: Ringing in your ears, which goes by the name of tinnitus, is typically a symptom of hearing damage. Ringing in the ear might or might not indicate hearing loss. But it’s definitely a sign that you should get a hearing assessment.
Here are some other circumstances that indicate you should schedule a hearing screening:
- You’re experiencing episodes of vertigo
- You take specific medications that can damage your hearing
- you’re experiencing an ear infection and it won’t clear up
- It’s challenging to pinpoint the origin of sounds
- Your ears are not removing earwax completely
This checklist, obviously, is not complete. 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 signs is worth following up on.
Regular examinations
But what if, to your knowledge, you haven’t experienced any of these possible signs of hearing impairment? So how often should you have 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 recommendations.
- Sometime after you turn 21, you should have a hearing test. Then your mature hearing will have a baseline.
- If your hearing is healthy, undergo hearing examinations or tests every three years or so. That can be a long time to pay attention to, so make certain they’re marked in your medical records somewhere.
- You’ll want to get tested immediately if you detect any signs of hearing loss and after that once a year.
It will be easier to uncover any hearing loss before any warning signs become apparent with routine screenings. You will have a better chance of maintaining your hearing over time the sooner you get checked. Which means, you should probably turn your TV down and make an appointment for a hearing assessment.