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Think you might have hearing loss? Here are the next steps you should take.
Though hearing loss is not reversible, most cases are easily treatable. The first step is to find a professional who specializes in hearing healthcare.
See someone as soon as possible
“If you want to address hearing loss well, do it sooner rather than later…before brain structural changes take place.” — Frank Lin, M.D., Ph.D. Johns Hopkins Medicine
Experts recommend you treat hearing loss sooner rather than later. Study after study have linked treated hearing loss to helping avoid many issues like depression, anxiety, increased risk of falls and hospitalizations, and even dementia1. The longer you live with impaired hearing, the longer and harder it will be to recover and adjust once treatment starts.
- Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Insist on a tailored treatment solution
If hearing loss is confirmed during your appointment with a hearing healthcare professional, you’ll most likely be prescribed hearing aids. Hearing aids are by far the most common way to treat hearing loss. They can help most people who have hearing loss, especially if the hearing aids have been fit by an experienced professional.
Just as every person is unique, every person’s hearing needs are unique. That’s why it’s important that if you do get hearing aids, they are fit, programmed, and customized to your specific hearing and lifestyle needs — and that you have access to proper follow-up and aftercare treatment. The best long-term solution is regular visits to your hearing professional for check-ups, adjustments, and regular testing.
Hearing loss impacts our emotional well-being
When we hear our best, there’s nothing stopping us from enjoying the sounds of laughter, music, nature or conversations with family and friends.
Hearing these sounds helps fuel us, and undeniably makes moments more memorable and life more enjoyable.
When hearing is impaired, those sounds we’ve taken for granted fade. Hearing loss plays a significant role in our physical and mental well-being — with a growing body of research linking hearing loss to dementia and cognitive decline. When we hear our best, it’s easy to stay engaged, alert and active.
When hearing is impaired, our sense of space shrinks, warning cues get missed, and we withdraw from social activities or situations.
Treating Hearing loss positively impacts everyday life
More than anything else, hearing keeps us connected to the world around us. When you can effortlessly communicate with friends and family, interact with colleagues, or enjoy a movie — that is The Joy of Hearing.
Patients report:
- Higher levels of confidence
- Increase excitement and willingness for social events
- Less isolation and more positivity
- Less likely to fall
*Statistics listed above pulled from 2017 WebMD Healthcare Professionals and Hearing Aid Wearer Study commissioned by Starkey Hearing Technologies. WebMD does not endorse any products or services.