According to one recent survey, nearly 30% of people have gone more than ten years without getting a hearing test. One of those people is Sofia. She knows she has to get her oil changed every 3000 miles, she sees the dentist every six months, and she reports punctually for her annual medical exam. But she has no idea the last time she had a hearing exam or underwent any type of accurate hearing evaluation.
Hearing assessments are beneficial for a wide variety of reasons, detecting early symptoms of hearing loss is perhaps the most significant one. Knowing how often she should get a hearing test will help Sofia keep her ears (and hearing) as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
How Many Times Per Year Should my Ears Get Checked?
We may be alarmed if Sophia hadn’t had a hearing exam in a decade. Or perhaps it doesn’t phase us. Depending on Sophia’s age, reactions could vary. That’s because hearing professionals have different recommendations based on age.
- It’s normally recommended that you take a hearing test every three years or so. There’s no problem having your ears examined more frequently, of course! The bare minimum is every three years. If you are subjected to loud noise regularly or work in a field where noise is commonplace, you should decide to get checked more often. There’s no reason not to do it, it’s painless and simple.
- If you are older than fifty: The general recommendation is that anybody older than fifty should undergo hearing checks yearly. As you get older, the noise damage you’ve suffered over a lifetime can begin to speed up, which means loss of hearing is more likely to start affecting your life. Plus, there are other health issues that can impact your hearing.
As far as your hearing is concerned, more often is absolutely better. Since you last had a hearing test, you may have new damage you should know about, so more frequent hearing exams could be practical.
Signs You Should Get Your Hearing Checked
Naturally, your annual (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 signs of hearing loss. And in those instances, it’s often a good plan to promptly contact a hearing specialist and schedule a hearing exam.
Some of the signs that might prompt you to get a hearing test could include:
- When you’re talking to people, you constantly need to ask people to repeat themselves.
- Phone conversations are always difficult to hear.
- Your hearing is dull as if there is water in your ears.
- Trouble hearing discussions in noisy situations.
- Listening to your favorite tunes at extremely high volumes.
- It’s common for hearing loss in the high pitched register to go first and since consonants are in a higher pitched register than vowels, they normally go first.
When these warning signs start to add up, it’s a good sign that the ideal time to have a hearing test is right now. The more frequently you have your hearing checked, the sooner you’ll know what’s going on with your ears.
What Are The Advantages of Hearing Testing?
Sophia might be late for her hearing exam for several reasons. Maybe she hasn’t considered it. Possibly thinking about it is something she’s simply avoiding. But getting your hearing tested on the recommended schedule has tangible benefits.
Even when your hearing is totally healthy, a hearing exam can help create a baseline reading, which makes deviations in the future simpler to detect. If you catch your loss of hearing before it becomes obvious, you can safeguard it better.
The reason for regular hearing assessment is that someone like Sofia will be able to identify issues before her hearing is diminished permanently. Early diagnosis by a hearing assessment can help your hearing be healthy for a long time. It’s important to think about how hearing loss will affect your general state of health.