If you’re planning to prioritize your health in the New Year, make sure to set goals to promote healthy hearing, too! Trouble hearing doesn’t just affect your ability to communicate. Untreated hearing loss has been linked to:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Frustration
- Social isolation
- Fatigue
- Dementia
Follow our steps below to start 2021 with healthy hearing.
Schedule an Appointment
It seems obvious, but if you have hearing loss, the important first step is to actually schedule an appointment with an audiologist. Few people actually follow-through on this very basic phase; in fact, only one in five people with hearing loss requiring treatment actually seeks help.
If you’re not sure where to start, ask around. Chances are one of your friends or family members has seen an audiologist they would recommend. If this method isn’t fruitful, you can also look up audiologists in your area online and read reviews from other patients.
Follow Your Audiologist’s Advice
Once you get your hearing tested, it’s essential to actually heed your audiologist’s advice. If they suggest hearing aids or other assistive devices, be open to the options that are available to you. If you have financial barriers, there are many options for financing, and your audiologist can address any other concerns you may have. Don’t underestimate how much better hearing could improve your quality of life.
Protect Your Remaining Hearing
Any sound over 85 dB can damage your hearing. For reference, that’s about the volume of passing highway traffic or a busy café. Within the ears are tiny hair cells called stereocilia, which convert soundwaves into electrical energy that travels via the auditory nerve to be interpreted as sound. When sounds over 85 dB pass through the ears, it can damage or destroy these cells. Once damaged, they do not regenerate, and permanent sensorineural hearing loss is the result.
Whether you have been diagnosed with hearing loss or not, it’s important to take protective measures to prevent future or further hearing loss. This means wearing earplugs when using power tools, listening to music through over-ear headphones instead of earbuds and avoiding cranking up the TV too high when watching the South Carolina Gamecocks game.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call CENTA Medical Group today.