You know you’re feeling moody these days but you’re not really certainly why. Well, it was frustrating earlier this morning when you felt left out of the meeting at work. Your daughter got up and abruptly left the house after becoming irritated when you kept asking her to turn the volume on the TV up. What’s the deal with that?
Did you ever stop to think that perhaps you could be suffering from hearing loss?
As you age hearing loss can take you by surprise and over 40 million individuals in the US suffer with it. And the problem goes beyond only your ears. Research shows that even slight hearing loss puts you at risk for memory problems, dementia, and even depression. What you may think is merely an indication of age, may actually be a treatable medical condition. Maybe, your co-workers didn’t leave you out of the conversation after all, perhaps you missed critical conversational queues because you couldn’t hear them. The fact is, if you can’t hear very well during your everyday life, it can become extremely frustrating.
Get the facts about hearing loss
A good place to start is discovering more about what you’re coping with. For many people, hearing loss is a normal side effect of growing older. But years of exposure to excessively loud sound can also be the cause for others. Noise-related hearing loss can be a result of lots of noise sources, such as mowing the lawn and leaf blowing, listening to loud music, and driving in heavy traffic with the window down. The fragile mechanisms in your ear can be damaged by lots of sounds in the world.
Another possible cause of hearing loss is chronic disease that becomes more prevalent as we age. When you have disorders that cause issues with your blood pressure, your inner ear can become damaged.
Recognize the signs
People often take their hearing for granted, so when it begins to go they don’t notice the signs:
- When individuals are conversing, you always feel excluded
- You’re always asking people to repeat themselves or even worse, saying ‘what’ a lot
- When there is background sound, like an AC or fan running, you struggle to hear words
Naturally, you’d be grumpy if you’ve been coping with any of these symptoms! Depression and social isolation can be the outcome of feeling detached from your world.
Treating hearing loss
One of the first things you can do is ask family and friends if they have seen you having a difficult time hearing. It may seem like a challenging discussion but it’s a very worthwhile one. If the answer is ‘yes’ then scheduling a hearing assessment should be your next step and will simplify things for you. Ask your loved one to go along with you to your appointment. It can be helpful to have a calm and supportive presence with you.
Your hearing test will not only help to verify your hearing loss but it will also gauge the extent of it. If hearing loss is established, we will advise the next course of action for you depending on the results of the exam. In the majority of instances, that will involve getting hearing aids. You’ll definitely be able to get a pair of hearing aids that will best fit your lifestyle since there are so many styles and options to choose from.
Deciding on quality hearing aids
We’ll have recommendations that will be best suited for your individual type of hearing loss. You will most likely need to evaluate several brands and models before you discover the best fit for your specific taste and hearing needs. Hearing aids don’t just amplify sound these days. They can pinpoint the direction that sound is originating from, block out background sound, and even connect to smartphones and computers. Different brands and kinds of hearing aids have different features, so do some research to determine what features you need to improve your life.
Also, remember to think about styles. They come in lots of snazzy colors or with no color at all, so they are virtually invisible.
If you think you’re dealing with hearing loss, make an appointment with our qualified hearing specialists today. Don’t you think it’s time to take action and end your cranky state of mind?
Call Today to Set Up an Appointment
References
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/