You’re not quite certain why, but you’ve been feeling moody lately. Well, you did feel excluded earlier this morning when no one bothered to bring you into the meeting discussion at the office and that was aggravating. Your daughter got up and abruptly left the house after becoming frustrated when you kept asking her to turn the volume on the TV up. Why would she do that?
Did you ever stop to think that perhaps you could be battling with hearing loss?
As you get older hearing loss can sneak up on you and over 40 million people in the US suffer with it. And, the issue doesn’t end at your ears, either. Even mild hearing loss puts you at risk of depression, memory problems, and even dementia, according to some research. What you may believe is simply an indication of age, may actually be a treatable medical condition. Perhaps, you missed essential conversational cues and your coworkers didn’t actually leave you out of the meeting after all. Honestly, it can be exceedingly aggravating when you can’t hear during your daily life.
Learn more about hearing loss
A good place to begin is discovering more about what you’re dealing with. For many people, hearing loss is a natural side effect of getting older. But years of exposure to excessively loud sound can also be the cause for others. Everything from the music you listened to when you were 16, to driving with the window down in heavy traffic, to mowing lawns and cleaning up leaves with that noisy leaf blower could contribute to a loss of hearing. The delicate mechanisms in your ear can be harmed by lots of noises in the world.
Another potential source of hearing loss is chronic disease that becomes more prevalent with age. High blood pressure, for instance, or diabetes can both affect blood flow, which causes harm to the inner ear.
Recognize the signs
People generally don’t detect when their hearing starts to go because hearing is often taken for granted:
- Struggling to comprehend words when there’s background noise like a fan or the AC
- You regularly feel like you are being left out of the conversations
- You frequently say “what” and often need people to repeat themselves
If you detect any of these hearing loss symptoms, it’s no wonder you’re cranky! Depression and social isolation can be the result of feeling separated from your world.
Create a plan to treat hearing loss
Start 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 important one. If the answer is ‘yes’ then scheduling a hearing test should be your next step and will clarify things for you. Try to get a loved one to go along with you to your exam. It can be helpful to have a calm and supportive presence 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 specify your best course of action moving forward. In most instances, that will involve 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.
How to pick quality hearing aids
We’ll have recommendations that will be best suited for your individual type of hearing loss. You will probably need to try several brands and models before you determine the best fit for your particular taste and hearing needs. Hearing aids don’t simply amplify sound these days. They can block out background noises, link to smartphones and computers, and even determine the direction that sound is coming from. Different brands and kinds of hearing aids include different features, so research them to determine what features you need to better your life.
Also, don’t forget to think about styles. They come in many snazzy colors or with no color at all, so they’re nearly invisible.
Schedule a hearing test with our qualified hearing specialists today if you think you could be experiencing hearing loss. Don’t you think it’s time to find out and end your cranky state of mind?
References
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/
