10 Reasons to Get a Hearing Test
Have you been putting off getting your hearing tested even though you suspect you’re not hearing as well as you once did? We have a new article out by audiologist Navid Taghvaei that offers ten good reasons why you should stop putting off that appointment.
Here is the condensed version:
1. There is still time to treat and manage hearing loss
Even if the test confirms you’ve already lost some hearing that doesn’t mean you’re doomed to lose all of it. In some cases, an audiologist may be able to recommend lifestyle changes to protect the hearing you still have.
2. Your hearing loss affects everyone around you.
Your hearing loss is difficult for your family, friends, and co-workers to deal with, too.
3. Hearing well improves relationships.
Spouses and significant others frequently experience frustration, annoyance, and hurt feelings toward those with untreated hearing loss. Having to repeat themselves constantly, shouting during their conversations with you, and blasting the television wears on everyone’s nerves.
4. Social alienation may lead to depression.
Hearing loss has been linked to the development of depression due to the isolation it breeds. The greater your isolation, the easier it is for depression to take hold.
5. Older people with untreated hearing loss are at greater risk of falling.
Johns Hopkins researchers identified an increased risk of falling due to hearing loss in a landmark 2012 study. Even those with relatively mild hearing loss (25 decibels) were nearly three times as likely to experience falls.
6. Hearing loss may be an early warning sign of diabetes.
Multiple research studies have indicated people with diabetes are approximately twice as likely to lose their hearing as those without the disease. Hearing loss can be an early warning sign of diabetes or other co-morbidities.
7. Untreated hearing loss and dementia have been linked.
Although the exact cause-and-effect remains unknown, researchers have concluded seniors with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia than their normal hearing peers.
8. Hearing loss may be a complication of cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease can lead to heart attacks or strokes, and often goes undetected until one of these catastrophic health events occurs. Since the hair cells vital to hearing are delicate they are often the first cells “killed” by reduced blood flow, leading to hearing loss.
9. It’s harder to get a job or advance in a career when you can’t hear.
It’s difficult enough to find a job these days without the extra burden of struggling to hear. In fact, only 48 percent of US citizens between the ages of 18-64 who have a hearing impairment are employed in the public or private sectors.
10. Advanced options for treating hearing loss are available.
Hearing aid technology has advanced significantly in the past decade alone. The first step is to get that hearing test, determine the kind of hearing loss you have, and then learn more about your treatment options.
