Do you struggle to hear on a daily basis? Sometimes it may not feel directly like hearing difficulty but rather fatigue or other signs. If you’re having trouble hearing, it might be time for a hearing aid. Sometimes people wait too long to take action, and this can lead to frustration, fatigue, and unnecessary struggles. Let’s go through some of the signs that people can overlook. Hearing is part of your overall health and wellbeing. Don’t ignore signs that it’s time for a hearing aid.
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Is it time for a hearing aid?
See if you recognize any of these signs. It may be worth further investigation:
1. Misunderstandings
This sign probably comes as no surprise. If you have hearing loss, it can be hard to understand what people are saying. Missing parts of words causes the brain to try to fill in the missing words and make guesses about what people are saying. Of course, when guessing we can make incorrect assumptions, which can then lead to embarrassing results.
In particular, since the start of the pandemic the lack of visual cues from masks has made it very difficult to understand conversation. Lipreading isn’t possible when someone is wearing a mask. Not only that, but the mask can also dampen the sound a bit as well. Needless to say, mask use makes communication much more difficult, especially if you have hearing loss.
2. Feeling tired
Do you feel exhausted at the end of the day? Hearing loss can cause us to strain, using a lot of energy and cognitive resources to get the meaning of the words. This means that other mental resources we would typically use to process and react to conversation are being occupied with just trying to pick out each individual word. It can be really taxing and draining to be doing this all day long. Listening fatigue is real. Feeling tired at the end of the day could be a sign of hearing loss.
Additionally, hearing loss can cause us to feel isolated or even depressed. People are social creatures and need a certain amount of interaction with others. Untreated hearing loss can be very isolating. It keeps us from feeling connected and being able to participate in conversation with family and loved ones. Those who suffer from depression can feel tired as well as alone and isolated.
3. Tinnitus
Hearing loss can have a variety of causes. Many people have hearing loss due to damage in the inner ear, or sensorineural hearing loss. One of the side effects of this type of damage to the auditory system is tinnitus. Sometimes tinnitus is more noticeable than hearing difficulty, partly due to the gradual nature of hearing loss over time.
4. Difficulty remembering
Do you find yourself struggling to remember parts of conversations? It can be difficult to remember something when it’s hard to hear. A degraded auditory signal tasks more effort to understand, meaning that there are fewer cognitive resources available to decode it and store it in your memory. Fortunately, this is actually not due to memory problems. Hearing loss can present as forgetfulness or memory problems.
5. Dominating the conversation (or withdrawing)
Hearing loss makes it harder to participate in conversations. To manage this frustration, people will sometimes try to dominate the conversation and do most of the talking. This way you’re not relying on responding the what other people are saying. Others are less likely to notice that you have difficulty hearing, if you’re the one doing all of the talking.
Another strategy to combat frustration from hearing difficulty is to simply withdraw from the conversation. The ‘smile and nod’ is a common approach. Although not ideal, people will sometimes do this to save face and avoid having to ask people to repeat multiple times.
Next steps
Fortunately, treating hearing loss can provide improvement in your life and help improve communication, memory, and overall wellbeing and mental health. Hearing loss can come on gradually, making it more difficult to realize when hearing loss is impacting your life. However, a hearing care professional can help when it’s time for a hearing aid.
If you think you might have hearing loss, the best next step is to book a hearing test with a professional. They will be able to help identify any issues and offer potential solutions like hearing aids or other treatments. Treatment can vastly improve quality of life, mental health, and social interactions.
Are you looking for a discrete, easily available service model? Eargo is a nice option that allows you to receive professional hearing care discretely from your home.
Is a hearing aid overwhelming?
It can be a lot in the beginning. But luckily, your hearing care professional can make the process much less intimidating.
How long does it take to get hearing aids?
The answer depends a bit on your hearing loss as well as the clinic or care model you choose. However, you’ll usually receive your hearing aids within a few days to a few weeks after the first consultation.
How bad does your hearing have to be to get a hearing aid?
Well, those who have hearing loss typically don’t realize how much they’re missing out on. So the real question is, what are you missing out on?
Are there any new hearing aid side effects?
It takes some time to adjust to a new hearing aid. At first, everything may seem louder and sound different. Even your own voice! This is mostly because you’re not used to hearing yourself due to your hearing loss. It does get better with time.
Can wearing a hearing aid make your hearing worse?
As long as your hearing aid is set to a level that is safe and appropriate for your hearing loss, the hearing aid will not damage your hearing. It’s important to see a hearing care professional who sets the device appropriately.
Want to know more about wearing a hearing aid for the first time? Try this video:
Thanks for reading this post on when it’s time for a hearing aid.
