According to one recent survey, nearly 30% of people have gone more than ten years without getting a hearing test. Sofia is one of those people. She goes to her annual doctor’s appointments, she visits a dentist every six months, and she gets the oil changed in her car every 3000 miles. But she can’t remember the last time she took a hearing exam or went through any kind of accurate hearing assessment.
Hearing evaluations are beneficial for a wide range of reasons, the most notable of which is that it’s often hard for you to notice the first signs of hearing loss if you don’t get one. Knowing how frequently she should get a hearing exam will help Sofia keep her ears (and hearing) as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
How Many Times Per Year Should my Hearing Get Checked?
We might be alarmed if Sophia hadn’t had a hearing test in a decade. Or maybe it doesn’t phase us. Depending on Sophia’s age, reactions might vary. This is because hearing professionals have different recommendations based on age.
- It’s generally recommended that you undergo a hearing assessment around every three years. There’s no issue having your ears examined more often, of course! But once every three years is the bare minimum. You should absolutely get evaluated more frequently if you are frequently in a loud setting. There’s no reason not to get it done, it’s painless and simple.
- If you’re over fifty years old: But if you’re over fifty, the recommendation is, you get a hearing test each year. As you get older, the noise damage you’ve suffered over a lifetime can begin to accelerate, which means loss of hearing is more likely to begin impacting your life. There are also several other factors that can impact your hearing.
When it comes to your hearing, more often is absolutely better. Since the last time you had a hearing assessment, you might have new damage you should recognize, so more frequent hearing exams might be helpful.
You Should Get Your Hearing Checked if You Notice These Signs
Needless to say, your yearly (or semi-annual) hearing exam isn’t the only good occasion to make an appointment with a hearing professional. As an example, if you recognize symptoms of hearing loss. And in those cases, it’s often a good idea to immediately contact a hearing specialist and schedule a hearing test.
Some of the signs that might prompt you to get a hearing test could include:
- Sounds become muffled; it’s starting to sound as if you always have water in your ears.
- Difficulty hearing conversations in loud situations.
- Listening to your favorite tunes at extremely high volumes.
- Having a very hard time comprehending people when talking on the phone, any phone.
- When you’re speaking with people, you repeatedly have to ask people to speak up.
- It’s typical for hearing loss in the high pitched register to fail first and since consonants are in a higher pitched register than vowels, they generally fail first.
When these warning signs start to accumulate, it’s a strong indication that the appropriate time to have a hearing exam is right now. You need to know what’s going on with your hearing and that means having a hearing test sooner rather than later.
What Are The Advantages of Hearing Testing?
There are plenty of reasons why Sofia could be late in having her hearing exam. Perhaps she hasn’t thought about it. It could be that she’s just avoiding thinking about it. But there are tangible benefits to having your hearing examined per recommendations.
Even when your hearing is completely healthy, a hearing exam can help create a baseline reading, which makes variances in the future easier to detect. You can safeguard your hearing better if you identify it before it becomes a problem.
That’s exactly why Sophia needs to show up for scheduled hearing exams before any permanent damage happens. Early detection by a hearing assessment can help your hearing stay healthy for a long time. Thinking about the effects of hearing loss on your general health, that’s important.