Surprisingly, it’s been more than 10 years since most individuals have had a hearing assessment.
Harper is one of them. She schedules a cleaning and checkup with her dentist every six months and she shows up dutifully for her annual medical exam. She even knows to get her timing belt changed every 6000 miles! But her hearing test typically gets neglected.
Hearing tests are important for a wide variety of reasons, early detection of hearing loss being one of the most significant. Harper’s ears and hearing will remain as healthy as possible if she knows how often to get her hearing checked.
So you should have your hearing examined how often?
It’s alarming to think that Harper hasn’t had a hearing exam in 10 years. Or perhaps it isn’t. Her age will greatly determine our reaction. That’s because we have different suggestions based on age.
- If you are over fifty years old: The general recommendation is that anybody over the age of fifty should make an appointment for yearly hearing evaluations. As you age, the noise damage you’ve incurred over a lifetime can begin to speed up, which means hearing loss is more likely to start affecting your life. Moreover, as we get older we’re more likely to have other health problems that can have an impact on hearing.
- If you are less than fifty years old: It’s usually recommended that you have a hearing test about once every three to ten years. Naturally, it’s fine to get a hearing test more frequently. But the bare minimum is once every decade. If you’ve been exposing yourself to loud concert noise or work in a field with high volume levels, you should err on the side of caution and get tested more frequently. After all, it’s painless, simple, and there’s really no practical reason not to do it.
Indications you should get your hearing checked
Undoubtedly, there are other times, besides the yearly exam, that you might want to come in and see us. Signs of hearing loss may start to surface. And in those situations, it’s important to get in touch with us and schedule a hearing assessment.
Here are some clues that you need a hearing test:
- Sounds become muffled; it starts to sound as though you always have water inside of your ears.
- Difficulty hearing conversations in loud environments.
- Having a really tough time hearing people when talking on the phone, mobile or otherwise.
- Cranking your television or car stereo up to extremely high volumes.
- You abruptly can’t hear out of one ear.
- You need people to speak louder or repeat themselves.
- You’re having a difficult time hearing sounds in higher frequencies such as consonants.
When the previously mentioned warning signs start to add up, it’s a good indication that the perfect time to get a hearing test is right now. You’ll know what’s going on with your ears as soon as you come in for an evaluation.
What are the advantages of hearing testing?
Harper may be late having her hearing test for a number of reasons.
It might have slipped her mind.
Maybe she just doesn’t want to deal with it. But there are concrete advantages to getting your hearing examined per recommendations.
Even if you think your hearing is totally healthy, a hearing test will help establish a baseline reading, which makes deviations in the future easier to detect. You’ll be in a better position to protect your hearing if you detect any early hearing loss before it becomes obvious.
Detecting hearing problems before they create permanent hearing loss is the exact reason someone like Harper should get tested regularly. Your ears will remain healthy longer by getting these regular screenings. If you let your hearing go, it can have an affect on your general health.
