Should I Get a Hearing Exam?

When should you schedule a hearing evaluation? Here are a few indications you should have your hearing checked.

Recently, my kids complained about how loud my TV was. My answer …” What?!” It was intended to be humorous. But there’s nothing comical about untreated hearing loss. The TV has been getting louder and louder. And I started to think about whether I should schedule a hearing exam.

There aren’t many reasons not to set up a hearing test. They’re non-intrusive, they don’t involve any radiation, and you can be at ease without concerns about your level of comfort. You just need to take a brief minute to set up an appointment.

Considering how much untreated hearing loss can impact your health, it’s important to be more cautious about it.

You should have your hearing checked if you detect these signs

If you’ve detected any recent changes that might be a sign of hearing loss, booking a thorough hearing evaluation with a professional is probably a smart decision. Obviously, if things are hard to hear, that’s a rather solid indication of hearing loss.

• Background noise can be overwhelming: Have you ever strained to focus on a conversation in a loud or crowded setting, where the surrounding racket makes it tough to hear every word? It’s possible that this could be an indication of impaired hearing.
• It sounds like everybody’s mumbling all the time: Sometimes it’s not loss of volume you need to be concerned about, it’s a loss of clarity.
• You’re always missing text messages: Your phone is designed to be loud. So, if you’re always missing calls or text messages, it could be because you aren’t hearing them.
• Ringing that won’t go away: Ringing in your ears, also called tinnitus, is often a sign of hearing damage.

Here are a few other scenarios that suggest you should schedule a hearing evaluation:

• Your ear is still blocked following an infection
• You have an accumulation of earwax you can’t remove by yourself
• Medicines you’re using might be damaging your hearing
• Identifying where sounds are coming from can be challenging
• You have vertigo

Routine checkups

Even if you’re not observing any noticeable symptoms, it’s still important to schedule routine hearing exams.

• Get a baseline test done sometime after you turn 21.
• For people with typical hearing, it’s advised to have a hearing assessment every three years.
• If you display symptoms of hearing loss, have it assessed immediately and then yearly thereafter.

Routine assessments can help you identify hearing loss before any red flags appear. The sooner you seek treatment, the better you’ll be able to preserve your hearing over time. This means you should probably turn your TV down and schedule a hearing test.