Approaching the new year by prioritizing your health and wellness offers a fresh start. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by setting and sticking to new year resolutions, you can opt for simple (yet important) ways you can still commit to your health. A great way to do this is scheduling an appointment for a hearing test. Having your hearing evaluated is a great way to assess where your hearing health is and identify any symptoms that may need to be treated. Treating any hearing loss offers countless benefits including transforming communication, relationships, and social life.
Are you experiencing hearing loss?
Impacting over 48 million people, hearing loss is the third most common chronic health issue people live with today. With nearly 1 in 6 people having some degree of impaired hearing, you may also experience hearing loss symptoms. Common symptoms include the following:
- Tinnitus: a buzzing or ringing like noise in one or both ears
- Having difficulty hearing in environments with background noise (restaurants, parties etc.)
- Finding yourself often responding with “huh” or “what”
- Frequently asking others to repeat themselves, speak louder, and/or slower
- Turning up the volume on the TV or other electronic devices
- Feeling left out of conversations and social gatherings
- Lip reading ot help identify individual words
- Pretending to hear to get through a conversation
- Being able to hear more clearly out of one ear compared to the other
- Feeling exhausted after conversations and social interactions
These symptoms can be mild or more severe depending on the degree of hearing loss you are experiencing. Symptoms take a toll on hearing and communication which can lead to people avoiding conversations as much as possible. This includes spending less time with loved ones and skipping out on social events. Social withdrawal is a major effect of hearing loss which can affect relationships, social connection, and mental health.
What are the benefits of treatment?
If any of these symptoms seem familiar, it is important to have your hearing health assessed. This involves a painless process that measures your hearing capacity in both ears. Once your hearing needs are identified, your hearing healthcare provider is able to tailor treatment to meet those needs. Hearing aids are the most common treatment for hearing loss. These electronic devices are designed to absorb, amplify, and process speech as well as sound. This offers numerous benefits including:
- Strengthening communication: hearing aids provide the ears and brain with ample support, making it easier to hear. They alleviate hearing loss symptoms and maximize one’s capacity to hear. This allows people to smoothly engage in conversations and communicate with ease.
- Improving relationships: communication is central to maintaining relationships. People often report feeling unheard and ignored by their loved one with hearing loss. This can create frustration and distance in relationships. Treating hearing loss allows people to spend quality time with loved ones, engage in activities easily, and communicate effectively. This strengthens connection and closeness which improves relationships.
- Enhancing overall health: treating hearing loss improves overall health in significant ways. Treatment reduces health risks like cognitive decline, falls and accidental injuries, as well as depressive symptoms. Hearing aids strengthen cognitive functions and increase spatial awareness as well as enrich social engagement.
Treating hearing loss can change the quality of your life and health. Treatment enables people to live full and active lives that are not disrupted by hearing loss.
Prioritize Your Hearing Health in the New Year
A great way to start the new year is by prioritizing your hearing health. This is as simple as contacting us to schedule an appointment for a hearing test. Conducted by a hearing healthcare specialist, hearing tests are painless and noninvasive. Once we learn more about your hearing needs, we are able to individualize treatment to meet your specific needs. Today’s hearing aids are more innovative than ever before. There is a wide range of styles, technologies, and features that are designed to seamlessly integrate hearing aids in everyday life while creating optimal healing experiences. Our experts will help you navigate your options, ensuring that you choose a device that will be best for you.
Contact us to schedule an appointment. We look forward to helping you start the new year right!