You aren’t quite sure why, but you’ve been feeling cranky lately. Well, you did feel excluded earlier today when no one took the time 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 frustrated when you kept asking her to turn the TV volume up. Why would she do that?
Perhaps the real issue is 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 goes beyond just your ears. Research shows that even slight hearing loss puts you at risk for memory problems, cognitive decline, and even depression. What you might presume is merely a sign of age, may actually be a treatable medical condition. Maybe, your co-workers didn’t leave you out of 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 dealing with. Hearing loss does happen to lots of people as a result of the aging process. But for others, it may be caused by years of noise overexposure. Noise-induced hearing loss can be a result of lots of noise sources, such as mowing the lawn and leaf blowing, listening to loud music, and driving in loud traffic with the window down. The delicate mechanisms in your ear can be harmed by lots of noises in the world.
Another potential cause of hearing loss is chronic disease that becomes more prevalent with age. When you have conditions that cause issues with your blood pressure, your inner ear can become damaged.
Recognize the signs
People usually don’t detect when their hearing starts to go because hearing is frequently taken for granted:
- Struggling to hear 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’re always asking people to repeat themselves or even worse, saying ‘what’ all of the time
If you notice any of these hearing loss indicators, it’s no wonder you’re grumpy! Depression and social isolation can be the result of feeling detached 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 working hard to hear conversations or if you say “What?” a little too often. It’s a crucial discussion even if it’s a difficult one. If the answer is ‘yes’ then scheduling a hearing exam should be your next move and will simplify things for you. Try to get a loved one to go along with you to your appointment. A supportive, calming friend can be really helpful.
Your hearing examination will not only help to confirm your hearing loss but it will also gauge the degree of it. If hearing loss is established, we will advise the next course of action for you depending on the results of the test. In most cases, that will involve getting hearing aids. You’ll certainly be able to get a set 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
We’ll have suggestions that will be best suited for your unique type of hearing loss. Take some to time choose the right brand and model for your needs, this may require testing a few styles and models. Today’s hearing aids do lots more than just amplify sound. They can determine the direction that sound is coming from, block out background sound, 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 needs.
Also, don’t forget to consider styles. They come in many fashionable colors or with no color at all, so they are practically invisible.
If you think you’re dealing with hearing loss, make an appointment with our qualified hearing specialists right away. It’s time to get out of that grumpy mindset and we can help!
References
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/hearing-aids/hearing-loss-america/