You know you’re feeling moody these days but you’re not exactly sure why. Well, it was irritating earlier this morning when you felt left out of the meeting at the office. The other night your daughter seemed irritated 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?
Did you ever stop to think that maybe you could be experiencing 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 issue goes beyond only your ears. Even slight hearing loss puts you at risk of depression, memory loss, and even dementia, according to some research. What you may presume is merely an indication of age, may actually be a treatable medical problem. Perhaps, your co-workers didn’t exclude you from the conversation after all, maybe you missed crucial conversational queues because you couldn’t hear them. The truth is, if you can’t hear properly during your everyday life, it can become extremely frustrating.
Learn more about hearing loss
A good place to start is learning more about what you’re coping with. For many people, hearing loss is a normal side effect of getting older. But for other people, it might be caused by years of noise overexposure. Everything from the music you listened to when you were 16, to driving with the window down in traffic, to mowing lawns and cleaning up leaves with that loud leaf blower could contribute to a loss of hearing. The fragile mechanisms in your ear can be damaged by lots of noises in the world.
Another potential cause of hearing loss is chronic disease that becomes more prevalent with age. High blood pressure, for example, or diabetes can both affect blood flow, which causes damage to the inner ear.
Recognize the signs
People generally don’t recognize when their hearing starts to go because hearing is often taken for granted:
- When there is background noise, like an AC or fan running, you have a hard time hearing words
- You’re always asking people to repeat themselves or even worse, saying ‘what’ all of the time
- When people are conversing, you always feel left out
If you detect any of these hearing loss signs, it’s no wonder you’re cranky! Depression and social isolation can be the consequence of feeling separated from your world.
Develop a plan to manage 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 might seem like a challenging discussion but it’s a really worthwhile one. A hearing examination should be next on your list, especially if people have noticed you having a difficult time hearing. Try to get a family member to accompany you to your appointment. It can be helpful to have a calm and supportive person with you.
Your hearing exam will both gauge whether you’re dealing with hearing loss and how significant it has become. Depending on the results of your test, we will be able to decide on your best course of action moving forward. In the majority of cases, that will entail getting hearing aids. You’ll certainly be able to get a pair of hearing aids that will best fit your situation since there are so many styles and options to pick from.
Deciding on quality hearing aids
Everybody’s hearing loss is unique and we will help you discover what treatment will be best for yours. Take some to time determine the right brand and model for your needs, this could require testing a few styles and models. Today’s hearing aids do so much more than just amplify sound. They can determine the direction that sound is coming from, block out background noise, and even connect to smartphones and computers. Do some research to find out which brands and models provide the features that will best fit your lifestyle and requirements.
Think about the style you want for your hearing aids, as well. They come in lots of fashionable colors or with no color at all, so they are virtually invisible.
Schedule a hearing assessment with our qualified hearing specialists right away if you believe you might be experiencing hearing loss. It’s time to get out of that cranky mindset and we can help!
References
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/