Early Hearing Testing: 5 Reasons It Matters

“Many of us do not think we need to worry about hearing loss until we begin to experience other conditions associated with aging, but there is a lot of research to suggest that having your hearing tested early can be advantageous in a number of ways.”

~ Stacey High, AU.D., LIC.-A

When hearing loss is detected early, it means your audiologist can work with you to fit hearing aids, and hopefully, this will mean you do not end up with hearing that is so degraded that you have to re-learn how to hear once more.

Approximately 30-million adults in the United States alone have some degree of hearing loss and would benefit from using a hearing aid, but so many of them struggle along not being able to communicate ad effectively or enjoy things like TV and music as much because they are not aware they have a problem. Early testing can turn things around for them and ensure that they are able to live their best life with as much sound as possible.

If you are still not convinced that you should have an early hearing test, here are some very compelling reasons why it really does matter:

It Prevents Further Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noise is one of the most frequent forms experienced, and is typically preventable with the help of hearing protection. Hearing loss is not always preventable, and it does depend on what is causing your hearing loss to some extent. However, for many people, the sooner their hearing loss is detected, the better chance they have of preventing further degradation.

The longer you live with hearing loss, the worse it tends to get because you are not receiving any treatments for it or using any of the hearing aids that could make it more manageable. This is why it is so important that you book an early hearing test with your audiologist.

It’s Good for Personal Relationships

Something that is often not discussed about hearing loss is the fact that it can put a strain on your relationships. When you struggle to understand what people are saying, then you can end up getting frustrated with them and they with you. You may end up seeing each other less or arguing more when you do and this is not great for family harmony. By getting your hearing tested early, you can avoid all this by having a hearing aid fitted by your audiologist so you can join in and not end up mishearing, having misunderstandings, or otherwise causing family discord.

It Can Affect Your General Health

What a lot of people do not realize is that the health of your ears can have an effect on your overall health. If you are experiencing hearing loss, you are more likely to experience balance disorders, anxiety, depression, experience cognitive decline and have various other health conditions too. By having an early hearing test, you can hopefully stave off many of these health issues by getting hearing aids fitted which will enable you to take better care of both your physical and mental health.

It Could Help with a Diagnosis

Similarly, having a hearing test performed by an audiologist could also help to diagnose you with various other health issues such as head injuries, brain tumors or even diabetes, all which often have the side effect of causing hearing loss in some people. This is why a hearing test is just as important as a physical and why you should not wait until it is too late to have a hearing test if you don’t have to.

You Can Create a Baseline

If you have your hearing tested regularly and before any loss has become severe, you will be able to establish a baseline level of hearing which your audiologist will then be able to use to determine whether or not your hearing has degraded or not. This is really useful because changes to hearing can often be small and hard to detect at first, so having that baseline in place will mean your hearing tests will be far more accurate and you will be able to catch any issue with far more ease, providing you keep up regular hearing checks, of course.

Arrange a hearing test today

If you are concerned that you may be experiencing hearing loss, or you would like to schedule a baseline hearing test, contact Bluegrass Hearing Clinic at 1-866-979-5579 to make an appointment with one of our audiologists. We’re happy to answer any questions you have about testing and the evaluation process.