According to one recent survey, nearly 30% of people have gone more than ten years without getting a hearing test. One of those people is Sofia. She goes to her annual doctor’s appointments, she sees a dentist every six months, and she has an oil change in her car every 3000 miles. But she hasn’t had a hearing examination in quite some time.
Hearing evaluations are beneficial for a wide variety of reasons, the most notable of which is that it’s usually difficult for you to discover the earliest signs of hearing loss without one. Sophia can keep her hearing healthy for a lot longer by determining how frequently to have her hearing tested.
How Often Each Year Should my Hearing Get Tested?
If the last time Sofia had a hearing examination was a decade ago, we may be worried. Or we might think it’s perfectly normal. Our reaction, and the reaction of her hearing specialist, most likely will vary depending on her age. That’s because hearing professionals have different guidelines based on age.
- If you are over fifty years old: But if you’re above the age of fifty, the recommendation is, you get a hearing exam yearly. As you get older, the noise damage you’ve sustained over a lifetime can begin to speed up, meaning loss of hearing is more likely to start affecting your life. There are also several other variables that can affect your hearing.
- It’s normally suggested that you have a hearing test every three years or so. Obviously, if you think you should have your hearing checked more frequently, there is no harm. But at least every three years is the bare minimum. If you are subjected to loud noise frequently or work in a field where noise is common, you should decide to get tested more often. It’s straight forward and painless and there’s truly no reason not to do it.
If you would like to have hearing screenings or tests more frequently, there’s certainly no harm in that, at least when it involves your hearing. The sooner you identify any problems, the more quickly you’ll be able to address whatever loss of hearing that might have developed since your last hearing exam.
Signs You Should Get Your Hearing Checked
Naturally, your yearly (or semi-annual) hearing exam isn’t the only good occasion to make an appointment with a hearing professional. In some cases, you begin to notice some signs of hearing loss. And in those circumstances, it’s usually a good plan to immediately contact a hearing professional and schedule a hearing exam.
Some of the signs that might prompt you to get a hearing test could include:
- Phone interactions are always tough to hear.
- Your hearing is dull like there is water in your ears.
- Constantly asking people to slow down or repeat themselves during a conversation.
- Turning your music to extremely high volumes (if your neighbors begin to complain, that’s a good sign you need to see a hearing specialist soon).
- Difficulties hearing conversations in noisy surroundings.
- It’s common for hearing loss in the high pitched register to go first and since consonants are in a higher pitched register than vowels, they usually go first.
A strong indicator that right now is the best time to have a hearing exam is when the warning signs start to accumulate. The sooner you get your hearing screened, the sooner you’ll know what’s happening with your hearing.
What Are The Benefits of Hearing Testing?
There are plenty of reasons why Sofia could be late in getting her hearing exam. Maybe she hasn’t considered it. Maybe thinking about it is something she’s just avoiding. But getting your hearing examined on the recommended schedule has actual benefits.
Even when your hearing is completely healthy, a hearing exam can help set a baseline reading, which makes variances in the future simpler to detect. You can safeguard your hearing better if you identify it before it becomes problematic.
The point of regular hearing testing is that somebody like Sofia will be able to recognize problems before her hearing is permanently impaired. Early diagnosis by a hearing examination can help your hearing stay healthy for a long time. It’s essential to think about how hearing loss will impact your overall health.