You aren’t quite certain why, but you’ve been feeling cranky lately. Well, you did feel excluded earlier this morning when no one bothered to pull you into the meeting discussion at the office and that was irritating. Last night your daughter seemed frustrated with you when you asked her to turn up the volume of the TV over and over again leading to her suddenly leaving the house. What’s the story with that?
Perhaps the real issue is hearing loss!
As you get older hearing loss can sneak up on you and over 40 million people in the US suffer with it. And the issue goes beyond just your ears. Even slight hearing loss puts you at risk of depression, memory loss, and even dementia, according to some research. You could have a treatable medical condition causing your hearing loss but you think it’s just an indication of aging. Maybe, you missed significant conversational cues and your coworkers didn’t actually exclude you from the meeting after all. Honestly, it can be extremely frustrating when you can’t hear during your daily life.
Learn more about hearing loss
Finding out a little bit more about what you’re dealing with is a practical place to begin. For many individuals, hearing loss is a natural side effect of getting older. But for others, it might be caused by years of noise overexposure. Noise-related hearing loss can be a result of lots of noise sources, like mowing the lawn and leaf blowing, listening to loud music, and driving in loud traffic with the window down. The fragile mechanisms in your ear can be harmed by lots of noises in the world.
Another possible source of hearing loss is chronic disease that becomes more common as we grow older. High blood pressure, for example, or diabetes can both affect blood flow, which causes harm to the inner ear.
Recognize the signs
People typically don’t detect when their hearing begins to go because hearing is often taken for granted:
- You’re always asking people to repeat what they said or even worse, saying ‘what’ all of the time
- You always feel like you are being left out of the conversations
- When there’s background sound, like an AC or fan running, you struggle to hear words
If you notice any of these hearing loss signs, it’s no wonder you’re cranky! Feeling detached from your world can result in depression and even social isolation.
Treating hearing loss
Begin by asking a family member or a loved one if they have seen you struggling to hear conversations or if you say “What?” a little too often. It might seem like a challenging conversation but it’s a very worthwhile one. A hearing exam should be the next thing that you do, especially if people have observed you having a hard time hearing. Try to get a loved one to accompany you to your appointment. It can be helpful to have a calm and supportive presence with you.
Your hearing examination will not only help to establish your hearing loss but it will also gauge the degree of it. Depending on the results of your exam, we will be able to specify your best plan going forward. Normally, hearing aids will be a major part of the treatment plan. You’ll certainly be able to get a set of hearing aids that will best fit your situation since there are so many styles and options to choose from.
How to choose quality hearing aids
We’ll have suggestions that will be best suited for your individual type of hearing loss. You will most likely need to try a number of brands and models before you find the best fit for your particular taste and hearing needs. Hearing aids don’t just amplify sound nowadays. They can block out background noises, connect to smartphones and computers, and even determine the direction of a sound. Different brands and types of hearing aids include different features, so research them to find out what features you need to improve your life.
Also, remember to think about styles. Some models have no color and are nearly invisible and other models come in vibrant colors.
If you think you’re suffering from hearing loss, schedule an appointment with our qualified hearing specialists right away. Don’t you think it’s time to take action and end your grumpy state of mind?
References
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/
