Uncover the Sound of Your Well-being

Hearing loss will affect us all at some point in our lives. Monitoring the health of our hearing is essential, as it impacts our overall social-emotional life, cognitive abilities, and physical well-being. But there are ways you can watch and improve your hearing to improve your life – or guard against your hearing deteriorating in the first place.

Going to any healthcare appointment can be daunting. However, the likelihood that we all will need help with our hearing is high, especially regarding age-related hearing loss, with one in three adults between the ages of 65 and 74 having some hearing loss. Like with many degenerative conditions, the longer a hearing condition goes undiagnosed, the worse it is likely to become.

But do not worry! Many well-established hearing professionals have the skills and expertise to properly diagnose your symptoms (the type of hearing loss can differ from patient to patient) and kit you out with the latest technology designed to elevate your listening experience. We know that hearing well means living well.

This blog post will tell you more about what living with hearing loss can be like and talk you through the steps you can take toward improving your hearing with the help of specialists.

Well-being in Hearing

How well you hear impacts your social-emotional life, cognitive ability, and physical well-being. Research from Hopkins University determined that hearing loss can contribute to faster rates of atrophy in the brain, leading to social isolation for some people with hearing loss. These elements are, therefore, interconnected and interdependent. Healthy hearing means a healthy body, so targeting signs of ill ear health as soon as possible is essential for your overall well-being and to prevent the onset of profound hearing loss.

But why is hearing important when we have other senses like sight and touch?

While this may sound like an absurd question, many of us have a preconception that diminished hearing can be “balanced out” by our other senses. But this is just not the case.

Hearing loss can fundamentally impact how we communicate with other people and, therefore, how well we connect with them. Hearing is part of how we understand one another, and profound loss of hearing can lead, in severe cases, to social isolation.

What next?

There are many hearing specialists available to help you with your hearing problems. If you are local to Las Vegas, Hearing Associates can help you understand your hearing patterns and work with you to find the best solution.

Your relationship with your hearing care specialist is ongoing, beginning with a hearing interview and leading to semi-regular check-ins designed to monitor your long-term hearing health. Your hearing specialist can help you understand your prognosis, thus helping you advocate for yourself in the workplace or with your family.

The Hearing Evaluation

A hearing evaluation comprises a few steps to tailor a healing process perfect for your needs.

The evaluation will begin with a consultation. Here, a specialist will gauge how you are functioning now and ask questions, including whether you have any existing medical conditions and what inspired you to come for a consultation. You can experience hearing loss in many different ways, from noise-induced hearing loss to auditory nerve damage, so addressing the cause of your pain is essential.

Then, the evaluation will start. The specialist will examine your ear canal and tympanic membrane (eardrum) to determine whether any blockages can be cleaned.

Once that stage is complete, the sound test will begin. Here, you will take a ‘pure tone test’ involving listening to various tones through headphones to see how you respond to high-frequencies and volume levels. A ‘bone conduction test’ will follow. This test shows how well the sound-conducting bones behind your ears function as you listen to different tones played by a specialist.

Then, you will listen to the speech. The specialist will determine how well you understand certain words to determine how damaged the connection between the ear and the brain has become, if at all.

Finally, you will have a post-evaluation consultation. The hearing specialist will now have a good sense of your level of hearing loss, and the conversation about your treatment can begin. They will tell you whether you have moderate hearing loss or are experiencing more severe hearing loss. Suppose there is nothing wrong with your hearing, however. In that case, a specialist can advise you on how to keep your hearing healthy, but the conversation may also involve the need for hearing aids to improve sound and reception levels for you. Your specialist may even suggest language therapy or the introduction of sign language to aid communication in some patients who may experience permanent hearing loss.

Should you go for a hearing appointment?

The fact that you are reading this suggests that you are either experiencing symptoms of hearing loss or know someone who is. Hearing loss can negatively impact our social, physical, and mental worlds and should, therefore, be addressed as quickly as possible. You can do this easily by visiting your local hearing specialist (Hearing Association for Las Vegas readers) to determine your care level. Your hearing shouldn’t impact your quality of life, so take action as soon as you see signs of hearing loss to protect your hearing today.

Take a closer look at the importance of regular hearing assessments. Our skilled professionals at Hearing Associates of Las Vegas provide comprehensive evaluations to uncover potential hearing issues early, allowing for timely intervention and personalized solutions.