- How Fast Can Hearing Loss Progress? - April 10, 2024
- Movie Enjoyment for Hearing Aid Users - March 13, 2024
- Predicting the Future of Hearing Healthcare - February 14, 2024
Hearing loss is more common than you may think, and approximately 40 million Americans of all ages struggle to hear clearly. You may have hearing loss from exposure to dangerously loud sounds on the job, or from noisy leisure activities such as attending rock concerts or sports events. Hearing loss can also be part of the aging process, and the cells in your ear are damaged as you age. If you think you’re at risk of hearing loss, or if someone in your family has been complaining that you can’t hear, make a New Year’s resolution to get your hearing tested.
What Causes Hearing Loss?
There are two main types of hearing loss that affect your ears and make it difficult to hear the sounds around you. Sensorineural hearing loss is the result of damage to the cells in the inner ear, often caused by exposure to loud noises, or as part of the aging process as the wear and tear of daily life catches up with your body. The best way to protect your ears from sensorineural hearing loss is to wear hearing protection whenever you’re in places with a lot of background noise, and protect the cells in your inner ear from damage.
The other main cause of hearing loss is conductive hearing loss. This hearing loss originates in the outer or middle ear. If you’ve had an illness, injury, or infection that’s affected your ear, you are suffering from conductive hearing loss. Even a buildup of earwax can block the ear canal and cause conductive hearing loss. This hearing loss can often be treated by dealing with the underlying cause, such as treating the illness or infection with antibiotics, or removing the buildup of earwax in the ear canal.
The Importance of Testing Your Hearing
You may think you’d notice the moment you have hearing loss, but the truth of the matter is that you’re likely the last person who will be aware of your losses in hearing. Your brain is an amazing organ, and as your hearing loss slowly changes, your brain adapts to the input it’s receiving from the ears. It makes small adjustments to help you hear, and you’ll barely notice the gaps in your hearing abilities. Your family will be the first to notice your hearing loss, and they may complain that you’re turning up the volume on the TV far too loud, or that you’ve been asking them to repeat themselves more than usual.
Testing your hearing will help you monitor your hearing health, and be the first to notice changes to your hearing. You’ll be able to treat your hearing loss at the first sign of impaired hearing abilities, and easily follow conversations, even in crowded places or challenging listening environments. Treating hearing loss early will also protect your hearing from further damage, and you won’t have to strain to hear or live with listening fatigue.
Schedule a Hearing Test
Ready to do the right thing for your hearing health? Schedule a hearing test and discover what sounds you’re missing. If you’ve never had a hearing test, performing a baseline hearing test will help you see exactly which sounds you’re struggling to hear, and you’ll discover your unique hearing needs. If you’ve had a hearing test in the past, but haven’t seen a hearing health specialist in several years, it’s time for another test. A comprehensive hearing test will test your ability to hear in quiet and in noise, and all you have to do is indicate if you’ve heard a sound. You’ll listen to sounds at various pitches and volumes, and this will give you a clear picture of your hearing health. The results of your hearing test will be compared to your baseline test, and you can see exactly how much your hearing has changed.
Hearing Aid Services of Antioch
At Hearing Aid Services of Antioch, we’ll help you will all your hearing needs. From baseline testing to comprehensive hearing testing, we will discover exactly which sounds you can hear. We work with the world’s top hearing aid manufacturers to bring you the best in hearing devices, and you can choose from a range of styles and technology levels to perfectly match your lifestyle and hearing needs. Make a New Year’s resolution you can easily check of your list, and call us today to schedule a hearing test.