Signs of Hearing Loss
A gradual hearing loss may progress into complex hearing loss if not addressed in the early stages of the problem. Only a medical professional can determine the true extent of a person’s hearing loss. It is imperative to schedule routine hearing screenings if there are signs of hearing loss.
What are some of the signs of hearing loss?
- There is at times a ringing in your ears (called tinnitus)
- Others say that your TV or radio is up too loud
- You say “what?” more frequently and ask others to repeat themselves
- Struggling to carry on conversations at parties and large meetings because of excessive background noise
- Feel stress and fatigue from or avoid social gatherings
- Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds like birds chirping, children’s and women’s voices
- Unsure of the source of a sound
- You ask your spouse or friend what was said
If you can relate to any of these, professionally fit hearing aids could bring measurable improvement in hearing along with other health benefits.
What Are Some Causes of Hearing Loss?
Contributing causes of sudden hearing loss are sometimes one-time events occurring in a person’s life. Some examples could be a sickness accompanied by a high fever, meningitis, certain medications, or a sudden loud noise like a blast or explosion.
Other contributing causes can happen more gradually over time. Warehouse, carpenters, and construction workers have the potential of developing early hearing loss due to exposure to frequent loud noises. Some recreational activities can also contribute to hearing loss. Other links to premature hearing loss include recurring events such as exposure to loud music, riding motorcycles, snowmobiles, and hunting. Untreated ear wax accumulation may also cause hearing loss.
If you have been fortunate enough to minimize your exposure to such things, there is one that happens inevitably over time which is age-related hearing loss
(presbycusis), especially in people over the age of 50.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association says that people 50 and over should have a hearing screening every three years.
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The Negative Effects of Hearing Loss
Healthy Hearing says that the first-time hearing aid wearer’s average age is 70 years old. The sad news is that they wait around 15 years from the onset of their hearing loss until they purchase their first set of hearing aids. The concern is that hearing loss affects many different aspects of health and wellbeing beyond a lack of hearing alone.
Some Negative Effects of Hearing Loss
- Higher loss of balance and falls (Triple the chance of falling in some adults.)
- Increased loneliness and social isolation
- Hearing loss may be associated with an accelerated cognitive decline (dementia)
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Hearing Aid Benefits
- Communicate more easily with others
- More capable of hearing directions and responding accordingly during times of emergency
- Hear wonderful sounds that you could not hear before wearing hearing aids, such as birds chirping
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Why are hearing aids so expensive?
The AARP quotes a President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report that states the average pair of hearing aids is around $4,600.
Some of what drives up these costs are:
- Employees
- Research
- Development
- Materials
- Overhead costs of maintaining a brick-and-mortar clinic location
When hearing aid providers leverage modern technology these savings are passed on to their patients.
By offering free online hearing tests and by manufacturers selling directly to patients eliminating the overhead of a brick-and-mortar clinic location these savings can be quite substantial.
Easy, No Cost or Obligation Online Hearing Test
Some older adults may put off seeking hearing loss help because of the perceived burden of traveling to an office for hearing appointments and because of the high cost of hearing aids.
Recently the medical community adapted to the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns by developing remote care options for their patients. Hearing tests are no exception because now there are high-quality and accurate online hearing tests.
These tests are a way for the hearing aid manufacturers to generate sales leads so before doing online hearing tests you will be asked for your contact information and agree to receive their marketing information to get your results.
A good choice for such an online hearing test is one provided by MDHearing.
To help relieve some of the stress of paying for your hearing aids, MDHearingAid will help you find out exactly what your insurance covers. This helpful service also files the insurance claim on your behalf for added convenience.
MDHearingAid’s doctor and other licensed hearing professionals bring clinic-level care conveniently to you via telemedicine in the comfort of your own home.
MDHearingAid’s doctors provide Clinic-level care to you even before anything is purchased free of charge.
MDHearing is the direct hearing aid manufacturer, so they can bring you high-quality hearing aids at a fraction of higher-priced clinics.
You get this with clinic-level care from a team of licensed hearing specialist professionals.
- Easiest to use online hearing test
- 100% free
- Only takes 8 minutes
- Designed to work with headphones
Here’s how MDHearingAid describe themselves:
MDHearingAid: MDHearingAid was founded by an ear, nose, and throat doctor determined to create a better way for patients to get high-quality, FDA-registered hearing aids within their budgets. We sell directly to our customers. By taking the expensive storefronts and unnecessary extra appointments out of the equation, we’re able to keep our prices much lower than the hearing clinics and still offer free shipping. Our hearing aid prices range from $400 to $1,200 a pair, they come with a 100% money-back guarantee, and we also offer complimentary email and phone support by our in-house audiologist and hearing aid specialists.
Take your free online test today!
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, December 11). How do I know if I have hearing loss caused by loud noise?https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/how_do_i_know_if_i_have_hearing_loss.html
Health ABC Study Group. (2013, February 25). Hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults. PubMed.
Hearing loss – Symptoms and causes. (2021, April 16). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/symptoms-causes/syc-20373072
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Age-related hearing loss (Presbycusis). Johns Hopkins Medicine, based in Baltimore, Maryland. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/presbycusis
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). The hidden risks of hearing loss. Johns Hopkins Medicine, based in Baltimore, Maryland. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-hidden-risks-of-hearing-loss
National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2012, February 27). Hearing loss and falls among older adults in the United States. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3518403/
National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). Introduction – Screening for hearing loss in adults ages 50 years and older – NCBI bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53869/
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2018, January 16). Benefits and safety issues. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/hearing-aids/benefits-and-safety-issues
Victory, J. (2021, April 6). Hearing loss symptoms: Signs of hearing impairment. Healthy Hearing. https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-loss/symptoms
Victory, J. (2021, March 15). Hearing loss and hearing aid statistics. Healthy Hearing. https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/52814-Hearing-loss-statistics-at-a-glance
WebMD. (2017, June 12). Signs of hearing loss you may not notice. https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/hearing-loss-signs#1
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About The Author
If I recently had a hearing test at my ent can I use that test?
Hi Mary,
Absolutely yes! The online test is only for your convenience.
Please send in your test results so that the hearing specialists can recommend the correct device for your specific needs.
Here are the 2 steps:
#1)
Click here to go to the website.
#2)
Scroll to the bottom of the page, and under “Customer Service”, click on “Contact”.
Fill out the contact form with your information and let them know that you have a test already from your ENT and need to send it to them for a device recommendation.
If I add a #3 step, please come back here and give us a review of your experience. I am sure that our readers will find that helpful.
Thank you for your question, Mary!
All the best,
John Ciancanelli