Hearing loss is a very common ailment among American adults. Even so, only about 20% of sufferers of hearing damage will take any action to address it.
Since permanent hearing damage is not reversible, it is crucial to halt the progress of hearing loss by getting a diagnosis and treatment as early as possible.
Step One: Find Out if You Have Hearing Loss
Your audiologist or primary care physician can give you a quick, easy hearing test that will determine if you have any hearing damage. Once you know the situation, you and your doctor will be able to determine the best options.
Hearing aids will benefit most people with hearing loss. Hearing aids effectively restore hearing ability artificially. When you restore hearing, you get so much more: enjoyment of entertainment, ability to interact socially, family gatherings without the stress, and all of the other normal communication required for daily life.
Step Two: Don’t Procrastinate
Recent studies have found that adults with hearing loss wait an average of 7-10 years before taking any action to address it. That’s a shame, because early diagnosis and treatment will give you the best quality of life possible without interruption in your activities or social life. The earlier you act to address and prevent this common ailment, the better.
The primary reason people wait to get hearing aids is that they are expensive. Most often hearing devices are not covered by health plans, which means a significant out-of-pocket expense. But when you think of hearing aids as an investment in your life and your health, both now and in the future, this investment is probably worth the money.
A few things to consider when deciding to invest in hearing aids.
Overall health is affected by hearing ability.
Hearing loss is associated with many overall health issues: from heart disease to dementia and cognitive decline. Staying alert to your hearing health can quite literally save your life!
Direct health implications aside, hearing loss can also cause other issues such as social isolation and anxiety when you are in a crowd. These stresses often result in anxiety, depression and anger issues.
Decreased brain stimulation from hearing loss can lead to cognitive decline. Balance issues can also result, because the levels of inner ear fluids can change, causing vertigo, dizziness and other problems.
Social life and emotional well-being can improve.
When you cannot hear and communicate effectively, friendships and even family relationships can become strained over misunderstandings. Healthy, effortless communication is vital to lasting relationships, and people with hearing loss can also become socially isolated.
Restore relationships restoring communication with your friends and family. This starts with hearing.
Get back your independence!
With hearing loss comes difficulty navigating life independently, which can make hearing loss sufferers dependent on other people. This loss of independence may result in depression because it can make them out of control of their own lives.
Get your hearing back and you can get your independence back!
Better hearing can increase professional success.
If you have difficulty hearing and communicating effectively, this will impact your professional life as well. Difficulty communicating at work will inevitably yield reduced job performance and could also result in reduction in pay or losing your job.
Cognitive decline also makes it harder to learn new things, which can make your job life even more difficult. When taking all of this into consideration, it may actually cost you money to not invest in hearing aids!
The first step to halting hearing loss and preventing further damage is to recognize your situation. Come in today for a hearing screening and formulate a strategy to train your brain to listen actively and effectively.
Diablo Hearing Services 2301 Camino Ramon, STE 106 San Ramon (925) 394-4646