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 knows she has to have her oil changed every 3000 miles, she sees the dentist every six months, and she checks in punctually for her annual medical examination. But she has no idea the last time she had a hearing exam or underwent any kind of accurate hearing assessment.
Hearing exams are important for a wide range of reasons, the most prominent 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 often to get her hearing tested.
How Frequently Do You Need to Have a Hearing Test?
We might be alarmed if Sophia hadn’t had a hearing test in ten years. Or maybe we don’t think anything of it. Depending on Sophia’s age, reactions could vary. That’s because hearing professionals have different suggestions based on age.
- If you are over fifty years old: But if you’re over fifty, the recommendation is, you have a hearing test each year. Hearing loss is more likely to impact your life as you age because noise damage begins to add up. There are also numerous other factors that can impact your hearing.
- It’s generally recommended that you take a hearing assessment around every three years. Of course, if you think you should get your hearing examined more frequently, there is no harm. But once every three years is the bare minimum. You should absolutely get evaluated more often if you spend a lot of time in a loud environment. There’s no reason not to do it, it’s painless and simple.
If you would like to undergo hearing examinations or tests more often, there’s obviously no harm in that, at least in terms of your hearing. The sooner you recognize any problems, the more quickly you’ll be capable of addressing whatever loss of hearing that might have developed since your last hearing exam.
Signs You Should Get Your Hearing Checked
There are undoubtedly other times besides your annual hearing test that you might want to make an appointment with your hearing specialist. For example, if you recognize signs of hearing loss. And in those cases, it’s often a good plan to immediately get in touch with a hearing specialist and schedule a hearing test.
Some of the signs that might prompt you to get a hearing test could include:
- Sounds become muffled; it’s starting to sound as if you always have water in your ears.
- Having a difficult time making out consonants (in general, consonants are spoken in a higher pitch than vowels, and it’s those high-frequency sounds that are often the first to go as hearing loss sets in)
- When you’re speaking with people, you repeatedly need to keep asking people to speak up.
- Phone interactions are always tough to hear.
- Cranking your television or car stereo to extremely high volumes (if your neighbors start complaining, that’s a good indication you need to see a hearing specialist soon).
- Difficulties hearing conversations in loud situations.
A good sign that right now is the best time to have a hearing test is when the warning signs begin to add up. You need to know what’s going on with your ears and that means getting a hearing exam sooner rather than later.
What Are The Benefits of Hearing Testing?
Sophia might be late for her hearing exam for many reasons. Perhaps she hasn’t considered it. Possibly thinking about it is something she is simply avoiding. But getting your hearing examined on the recommended schedule has concrete benefits.
And it will be simpler to detect hearing deviations in the future if you have your hearing examined by establishing a baseline reading even if it seems as if everything is just fine. You can safeguard your hearing better if you detect it before it becomes an issue.
That’s why Sophia needs to show up for scheduled hearing appointments before any permanent injury happens. By detecting your hearing loss early, by getting your hearing checked when you’re supposed to, you’ll be keeping your ears healthier longer. It’s essential to understand how hearing loss will impact your overall state of health.