According to one recent survey, nearly 30% of people have gone more than ten years without getting a hearing test. Sofia is one of those people. She knows she has to have her oil changed every 3000 miles, she has a checkup with the dentist every six months, and she checks in punctually for her annual medical exam. But she hasn’t had a hearing exam in quite some time.
Hearing exams are beneficial for a wide range of reasons, finding initial symptoms of hearing loss is likely the most significant one. Sophia can keep her hearing healthy for a much longer period of time by determining how frequently to have her ears tested.
How Often Each Year Should my Ears Get Tested?
We might be alarmed if Sophia hadn’t had a hearing test in ten years. Or maybe it doesn’t phase us. Our reaction, and the reaction of her hearing specialist, probably will vary depending on her age. That’s because hearing specialists have different suggestions based on age.
- If you’re older than fifty: The general suggestion is that anyone over the age of fifty should get hearing checks every year. Hearing loss is more likely to impact your life as you grow older because noise damage starts to add up. There are also several other variables that can affect your hearing.
- It’s generally recommended that you have a hearing test around every three years. Of course, if you feel you should get your hearing checked more frequently, there is no harm. But at least every three years is the bare minimum. If you are exposed to loud noise repeatedly or work at a job where noise is common, you should decide to get checked more often. There’s no reason not to get it done, it’s painless and simple.
If you would like to have hearing examinations or tests more frequently, there’s obviously no harm in that, at least when it involves your hearing. Since you last had a hearing assessment, you may have new injury you should know about, so regular hearing tests could be helpful.
You Should Get Your Hearing Checked if You Notice These Signs
Needless to say, your annual (or semi-annual) hearing test isn’t the only good time to make an appointment with a hearing professional. In some cases, you start to notice some symptoms of hearing loss. And in those instances, it’s typically a good plan to promptly get in touch with a hearing professional and schedule a hearing exam.
Some of the signs that might prompt you to get a hearing test could include:
- Having a tough time hearing consonants (generally speaking, consonants are spoken in a higher wavelength than vowels, and it’s those high-frequency sounds that are usually the first to go as hearing loss sets in)
- Sounds become muffled; it starts to sound as though you always have water in your ears.
- Having a very difficult time understanding people when talking on the phone, mobile or otherwise
- Listening to your favorite tunes at excessively high volumes.
- When you’re speaking with people, you constantly have to keep asking people to repeat themselves.
- When you’re in a loud environment, you have problems hearing conversations.
A strong sign that right now is the best time to have a hearing test is when the warning signs start to accumulate. The sooner you get your hearing examined, the sooner you’ll know what’s going on with your ears.
Hearing Tests, What Are The Advantages?
Sophia may be late for her hearing exam for many reasons. Perhaps she hasn’t thought about it. It could be that she’s just avoiding dealing with it. But getting your hearing examined on the recommended schedule has concrete advantages.
Even when your hearing is completely healthy, a hearing exam can help create a baseline reading, which makes deviations in the future easier to detect. If you catch your loss of hearing before it becomes obvious, you’ll be able to protect it better.
The point of regular hearing assessment is that somebody like Sofia will be in a position to recognize concerns before her hearing is diminished permanently. By detecting your hearing loss early, by getting your hearing checked when you’re supposed to, you’ll be giving your ears their best chance of staying healthy. It’s important to consider how hearing loss will influence your total health.