Even if you use glasses (the type you put on your face, not the kind you fill with liquid), you still see your eye doctor yearly, right? Because your eyes change over time. Nothing in your body is fixed, not your eyes and not, it turns out, your ears either. That’s why, much like your eyes, it’s essential to keep getting your ears assessed even after you’ve purchased a nice pair of hearing aids.
Regrettably, many individuals miss those routine check-ups. Maybe a visit to their doctor is taking a back seat to enjoying life. Or maybe, work has been particularly difficult this year. Or maybe you’ve just decided to not go back in because you’re so pleased with your hearing aids. That should be a good thing, right?
Getting your hearing checked
Let’s use Daphne as our fictional stand-in. Daphne has been detecting some red flags with her hearing for a while now. Her TV volume continues to get louder. She has difficulty following discussions at after-work happy hours in loud restaurants. And so, she goes in to get her hearing assessed (because she’s intelligent and she takes care of herself).
Daphne makes sure to follow all of the steps to manage her hearing impairment: she gets fitted for new hearing aids and has them precisely calibrated, and then goes back to her regular routine.
Issue solved? Well, maybe not entirely. Going in for an exam allowed her to catch her hearing loss early and that’s excellent. But for most individuals with hearing impairment, even a minor one, follow-up care becomes almost more significant in the long run. Daphne would be doing herself a favor by maintaining routine appointments. But Daphne’s not alone in bypassing check-ups, according to one study, only 33% of senior citizens using hearing aids also maintained routine hearing services.
Why do you need hearing exams once you get hearing aids?
Alright, remember our glasses metaphor? Just because Daphne uses hearing aids now doesn’t mean her hearing will become fixed and stop changing. It’s important to fine-tune the hearing aids to counter those changes. Periodic testing helps track any changes in hearing and catch issues early.
And there are other benefits to getting regular hearing assessments after you get hearing aids. Some of the most common reasons to ensure you get to your next appointment include:
- Your fit may change: It’s likely that there will be a change in how your hearing aids fit as your ears are always changing. Routine check-ups can help ensure that your hearing aids keep fitting the way they’re supposed to.
- Hearing aid calibration: Your hearing changes in slight ways, and while your overall hearing may remain stable, these slight changes could require you to get regular hearing examinations. Your hearing aid could become less and less reliable if you avoid this calibration.
- Hearing degeneration: Your hearing may continue to deteriorate even if you have hearing aids. If this deterioration is slow enough, you most likely won’t recognize it’s happening without the assistance of a hearing test. Appropriate alterations to your hearing aids can frequently slow hearing declines.
Dangers and hurdles
The issue is, Daphne may, in her frustration, quit using her hearing aids entirely because they’re not working correctly. Over time, hearing loss can be slowed by using hearing aids. If you quit wearing them, not only can your hearing deteriorate faster, you may not notice it right away.
If you want your hearing aids to continue working at an optimal level, routine check-ups are going to be your best bet in terms of attaining that. Safeguard your hearing and ensure your hearing aids are effectively working by getting routine screenings.