You’re not quite sure why, but you’ve been feeling moody lately. Well, you did feel left out earlier today when no one bothered to pull you into the meeting discussion at the office and that was annoying. Your daughter got up and suddenly left the house after becoming irritated when you kept asking her to turn the TV volume up. Why would she do that?
Maybe the real problem is hearing loss!
Hearing loss is a problem for roughly 40 million people in the US and can sneak up on you with age. And the problem goes beyond only your ears. Research shows that even mild hearing loss puts you at risk for memory problems, dementia, and even depression. What you might think is merely a sign of age, may actually be a treatable medical condition. Maybe, your co-workers didn’t exclude you from the conversation after all, perhaps you missed critical conversational queues because you couldn’t hear them. Honestly, it can be very frustrating when you can’t hear during your day-to-day life.
Get the facts about hearing loss
A good place to start is discovering more about what you’re coping with. Hearing loss does happen to lots of people as a result of the aging process. But years of exposure to excessively loud sound can also be the cause for others. Noise-related hearing loss can be caused by many noise sources, such as mowing the lawn and leaf blowing, listening to loud music, and driving in loud traffic with the window down. The world is full of potentially ear-damaging sound that can erode the delicate mechanisms that help you hear.
Long-term diseases that become more common with age are a potential factor as well. When you have disorders that cause issues with your blood pressure, your inner ear can become damaged.
Recognize the signs
People generally don’t recognize when their hearing begins to go because hearing is often taken for granted:
- You regularly say “what” and often need people to repeat themselves
- Finding it difficult to hear words when there is background noise like a fan or the AC
- When people are conversing, you always feel excluded
Obviously, you’d be grumpy if you’ve been struggling with any of these signs! Feeling separated from your world can cause depression and even social solitude.
Managing 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 frequently. It may seem like a difficult discussion but it’s a really important one. A hearing exam should be next on your list, particularly if people have observed you having a difficult time hearing. Try to get a family member to go along with you to your appointment. It can be helpful to have a calm and supportive presence with you.
Your hearing exam will not only help to confirm your hearing loss but it will also gauge the degree of it. If hearing loss is identified, we will advise the next strategy for you based 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 set of hearing aids that will best fit your lifestyle since there are so many styles and options to choose from.
How to choose quality hearing aids
Everybody’s hearing loss is unique and we will help you figure out what treatment will be best for yours. Take some to time find the right brand and model for your needs, this may require testing several styles and models. Today’s hearing aids do lots more than just amplify sound. They can block out background noises, connect to smartphones and computers, and even determine the direction that sound is coming from. Do some research to determine which brands and models come with the features that will best fit your lifestyle and requirements.
Think about the style you want for your hearing aids, also. They come in lots of fashionable colors or with no color at all, so they are nearly invisible.
If you think you’re suffering from hearing loss, make an appointment with our qualified hearing specialists today. It’s time to get out of that grumpy mindset and we can help!
Call Today to Set Up an Appointment
References
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/