Hearing loss can have a significant impact on several aspects of your daily life. Being unable to maintain good communication with others or remain alert to environmental sounds can be devastating to your earning power, your relationships, your enjoyment of social activities, and your mental and physical health as well. Studies have shown direct links between hearing and serious health and mental health issues, including dementia, diabetes, heart disease, and depression.

If you are having trouble hearing those around you or hearing in certain situations, it is critical to address the issue as soon as possible. Unaddressed hearing loss will only get worse with time and will become more difficult to treat.

There is good news, though. Hearing difficulties that are caught and addressed early on can be effectively treated, allowing you to get back to your life without impairment.

Get a Comprehensive Hearing Evaluation

The first step to treating hearing loss is receiving a correct diagnosis. Though you may have noticed some minor problems with your hearing, such as difficulty hearing others in a noisy restaurant or trouble watching television, you can’t be certain if the problems are in fact minor or if you indeed have significant underlying hearing issues until you get a comprehensive hearing evaluation.

An audiologist will be able to determine what is affecting your hearing by performing a full hearing evaluation, examining your auditory pathway, and pinpointing the origin of your symptoms.

Hearing Aids

Once you have been properly diagnosed by a professional, your audiologist will discuss with you the treatment options available to help you hear better.

Ninety-five percent of individuals with difficulty hearing have sensorineural hearing loss. This is most often caused by genetics, age, and noise exposure.  This type of hearing loss istreated with the use of hearing aids if it affects the speech range.

Your audiologist will work with you to develop an action plan to treat your hearing problems as effectively as possible. During the consultation, your audiologist will learn more about your lifestyle and listening needs to identify which technology features may suit your needs.

The latest hearing aids are equipped with the newest technological advancements to help you hear better. Hearing aids come in a variety of different price points based on features and individual needs as well as a variety of styles, sizes, and colors. Depending on your personal preferences and degree of hearing loss, you may choose among a variety of different types of hearing aids, such as receiver-in-the canal, behind-the-ear and in-the-ear hearing aids.

The hearing aids will be fit to your unique hearing requirements to ensure optimal performance. They will then amplify sound and help control noise to improve listening comfort and speech recognition. Hearing aids will allow you to communicate more effectively and function better, too.

Assistive Listening Devices

In addition to hearing aids, your audiologist may also recommend assistive listening devices in order to bridge communication gaps in certain situations. These devices can improve your hearing experience when talking on the phone, listening to the radio, or watching TV by honing in on particular sound signals. Some of these assistive listening devices include TV devices like HyperSound speakers, FM systems, telephone amplifiers, or audio-loops.

Treatment options vary based on a range of factors including the severity and type of hearing loss as well as your individual lifestyle. Request an appointment with a doctoral-level audiologist at Associated Audiologists to receive a comprehensive hearing evaluation and discuss the treatment options that are available to you, so you can get on the path to better hearing.