How Often Should Someone get their Hearing Checked?

A lot of people recognize that getting their hearing tested is important. However, a very small number of people get their hearing tested as regularly as they should. It is something that they tend to put to the back of their mind. However, hearing issues that are picked up on quickly are resolved with greater ease. Regular hearing tests can make sure that any issues do not get worse. With that being said, we are going to reveal how often you should book a hearing test with an audiologist.

How often should you get hearing tests?

The frequency of a hearing aid test will depend on how old you are. For example, if you are between the age of 18-45 years old, it is advisable that you have a hearing test every five years. If you are between the age of 45-60 years old, you should have a hearing test every three years. Finally, once you reach the age of 60 years old, it is advisable that you have a hearing test every two years. Of course, this is something that should simply be considered a guideline. If you notice any of the symptoms that are associated with hearing loss, you should book an appointment with an audiologist as soon as possible. 

It is vital to make sure that you begin to check your hearing early in adulthood. This is because hearing problems can happen at any time in your life. A lot of hearing damage does happen due to age. Nevertheless, the advent of loud devices, such as smartphones and MP3 players, has meant that a lot of younger people are experiencing hearing loss as well. Moreover, if you live somewhere that has a higher risk of hearing loss, you work or live in a place with a large amount of occupational noise, you should get your hearing tested every year. It is also advisable to make sure that you have your hearing tested every year if you are exposed to loud noises, such as guns or motorcycles, on a regular basis.

Understanding hearing loss risk factors

There are clearly a number of risk factors that are going to make a person more likely to experience some form of hearing loss. Because of this, it is important to make sure that you see an audiologist more frequently if any of these risk factors apply to you. Let’s take a look at them:

• Some illnesses and diseases, meningitis, can result in damage to the cochlea. 
• Some medications can cause hearing loss or have a temporary impact on your hearing, pain relievers and very high doses of aspirin. Some chemotherapy drugs can impact the inner ear, as well as sildenafil and antibiotic gentamicin.
• Recreational noises, exposure to explosive noises, listening to loud music, motorcycling or snowmobiling. 
• Occupational noises, such as a loud noise in certain work environments.
• Heredity. Your genetic makeup may mean that you are more likely to experience ear damage from deterioration from aging or sound.
• Exposure to loud noise can result in damage to the cells of your inner ear.
• Finally, we cannot speak about risk factors without mentioning age. As discussed earlier, the older you get, the frequency at which you see an audiologist for a hearing test should increase. 

What are the symptoms of hearing loss?

As discussed in the previous section, if you notice any signs or symptoms associated with hearing loss, you should also book a hearing test with an audiologist. Below, we are going to take a look at these signs and symptoms in order for you to get a better understanding:

• Avoidance of some social settings
• Withdrawal from conversations
• Needing to turn up the volume of the radio or television 
• Frequently asking other people to speak more loudly, clearly or slowly
• Trouble hearing consonants 
• Difficulty understanding words, especially in a crowd or against background noise
• Muffling of speech and other types of sounds

Contact Hearing Aid Consultants of North Mississippi today to book a hearing test 

If you would like to find out more about Hearing Aid Consultants of North Mississippi and the service that we provide, all you need to do is give us a call today for more information ay 662-234-1337. We can get you booked in for a hearing test as soon as possible. Don’t delay when it comes to your hearing; it can only result in the hearing loss getting worse.