Hearing loss affects many people as they get older. While some people get treatment for hearing loss, many people don’t realise that they’re losing their hearing or refuse to see an audiologist. This can lead to hearing loss getting progressively worse – making communication more difficult and making you less alert to important warning sounds. This post delves more into why you shouldn’t ignore hearing loss.
Signs you may have hearing loss
First, let’s take a look at the signs that you may have hearing loss:
- You struggle to follow conversations with people – particularly in noisy environments.
- You often find yourself asking people to repeat things they have said, because you can’t hear them properly.
- You find yourself constantly turning up the volume of the TV or your music – and other people have commented that it is very loud.
- You’ve been sleeping through alarms or noises that previously would wake you up.
- You regularly experience ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
Why people ignore hearing loss
There are many reasons why people ignore hearing loss. Some people simply don’t know that their hearing is impaired. Others may notice signs, but don’t want to deal with the cost and inconvenience of wearing a hearing aid. For others, it may be an image problem – they may be embarrassed to wear a hearing aid. Others may know that their hearing is bad, but they may not think it is bad enough to warrant getting tested and treated.
Why you shouldn’t ignore it
Ignoring hearing loss won’t cause it to go away. In fact, the added strain on your ears may increase the progression of hearing loss. Eventually you will need a hearing aid if you want to be able to hear people clearly.
Hearing aids have come a long way in terms of design, and there are many hearing aid brands and styles to choose from. While some are larger and bulkier, others are compact and sit right in the ear canal where they cannot be seen easily – a great option for those who want something discreet.
The cost of hearing aids can vary. There are quite a few accessible options for those with a small budget. Maintenance requirements also vary from model to model. Generally, hearing aids are easy to clean and easy to change batteries for. The actual ‘tuning’ of the hearing aid is meanwhile done by an audiologist – by undergoing a hearing exam, they can adjust the levels of the right frequencies for you, so that you don’t have to do this yourself.
Hearing aids aren’t just for people with severe hearing loss and they can help people with minor hearing loss too. In fact, they are more effective for this type of hearing loss and you may find that there is a greater range of designs available for mild hearing loss. Therefore, you shouldn’t wait until you’re almost completely deaf.
Conclusion
Hearing loss is not something you should ignore. By taking the time to get tested and explore different hearing aids, you can improve your hearing and stop worrying about not being able to hear people.
