If You're Experiencing Hearing Loss, when should You seek Help?

If you are noticing any hearing loss or trouble with communication, inform your hearing healthcare provider immediately. Treating hearing loss in a timely manner can reverse and slow down the hearing loss. 

If you experience changes in your hearing, whether it’s struggling with phone conversations, having trouble hearing others in a crowded environment, or constantly turning the volume up on your TV or computer to the point where it bothers other people, you need to seek treatment. 

Hearing loss impacts nearly 48 million people in the U.S. (that’s 20% of the population), and it becomes more common as you age. 

The way that you communicate with others on a regular basis, is negatively affected. Relationships with family, friends, colleagues and healthcare providers can become strained.

The ability to hear your healthcare provider, so that you can understand their diagnosis and receive proper treatment can impact you for the rest of your life. Any range of hearing loss, whether it’s mild or profound, can diminish the ability you have to fully communicate with your healthcare provider and decrease your ability to share personal health information with them. 

Chronic health conditions such as diabetes, or smoking habits, might raise your risks for hearing loss.

When should You see a Hearing Aid Specialist?

Here are a series of questions to reflect on to determine whether you should seek help.

1. Do you struggle with hearing others through the phone?
2. Can you hear better with one ear than the other ear when using the phone?
3. Do you have difficulty with following a conversation where two or more people are speaking at the same time?
4. Do others frequently ask you to turn down the volume on your T.V. or computer?
5. Do you strain to understand a conversation or experience fatigue from listening to others?  
6. Do you struggle hearing others who are nearby, when there’s too much background noise?  
7. Do you experience dizziness, pain, or tinnitus (a ringing or buzzing noise)?
8. Do you frequently ask others to repeat themselves?
9. Have family members, colleagues, or coworkers mentioned that you missed what was said?
10. Do most people seem to mumble, not speak clearly or loud enough?
11. Have you ever misunderstood something that was said and gave them an inappropriate response?
12. When women, children, or anyone with a high-pitched voice speaks, do you have difficulty understanding them?
13. Do you have a family history of hearing loss caused by a genetic condition?
14. Have you had any extensive exposure to noise in the workplace, during recreational activities, or from military service?

If you answered “Yes” to at least one of these questions, contact us at Pure Sound Hearing for a free hearing assessment and consultation with one of our hearing instrument specialists. They will go over possible treatment options which may include hearing aids and/or an assistive listening device. 

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