You’re not quite sure why, but you’ve been feeling moody lately. Well, it was frustrating earlier today when you felt left out of the meeting at work. Last night your daughter seemed annoyed with you when you asked her to turn up the volume of the TV over and over again leading to her abruptly leaving the house. Why would she do that?
Did you ever stop to think that maybe you could be experiencing hearing loss?
Hearing loss is an issue for around 40 million people in the US and can sneak up on you with age. And, the problem doesn’t end at your ears, either. Even mild hearing loss puts you at risk of depression, memory problems, and even cognitive decline, according to some research. What you might think is merely an indication of age, may actually be a treatable medical condition. Maybe, you missed significant conversational cues and your coworkers didn’t actually exclude you from the meeting after all. The fact is, if you can’t hear very well during your everyday life, it can become incredibly frustrating.
Get the facts about hearing loss
A good place to begin is learning more about what you’re coping with. For many people, hearing loss is a natural side effect of growing older. But for others, it might be due to years of noise overexposure. Noise-induced hearing loss can be caused by lots of noise sources, like 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.
Chronic diseases that become more common with age are a potential factor as well. When you have disorders that cause problems with your blood pressure, your inner ear can become damaged.
Recognize the signs
People usually don’t detect when their hearing begins to go because hearing is frequently taken for granted:
- When there is background noise, like an AC or fan running, you have a hard time hearing words
- You always feel like you are being left out of the conversations
- You’re always asking people to repeat themselves or even worse, saying ‘what’ a lot
Naturally, you’d be cranky if you’ve been dealing with any of these signs! Depression and social solitude can be the result of feeling detached from your world.
Managing hearing loss
Start by asking a family member or a loved one if they have seen you working hard to keep up with conversations or if you say “What?” a little too frequently. It’s a crucial conversation even if it’s a difficult one. A hearing examination should be the next thing that you do, especially if people have noticed you having a difficult time hearing. Try to get a family member to accompany you to your exam. It can be helpful to have a calm and supportive friend with you.
Your hearing exam will both gauge whether you’re dealing with hearing loss and how significant it has become. Depending on the results of your test, we will be able to figure out your best course of action going forward. In the majority of instances, that will involve getting hearing aids. You’ll definitely be able to get a set of hearing aids that will best fit your lifestyle since there are so many styles and options to pick from.
How to select quality hearing aids
Everyone’s hearing loss is different and we will help you figure out what treatment will be best for yours. Take some to time choose the correct brand and model for your needs, this might require testing several styles and models. Today’s hearing aids do so much more than just 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 have different features, so research them to find out what features you require to improve your life.
And, don’t forget to think about styles. They come in various snazzy colors or with no color at all, so they’re nearly invisible.
Schedule a hearing test with our qualified hearing specialists today if you think you could be suffering with hearing loss. Don’t you think it’s time to find out and end your grumpy state of mind?
References
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/
