You will still visit your eye doctor yearly even if you already wear eyeglasses. Because, as time goes by, your eyes change. Nothing in your body is fixed, not your eyes and not, as it happens, your ears either. That’s why, even after you’ve purchased hearing aids, it’s important to consistently have your ears checked much like you would with your eyes.
Many individuals, regrettably, skip those yearly appointments. Maybe a trip to their doctor is taking a back seat to enjoying life. Or perhaps, work has been particularly difficult this year. Or perhaps, you’ve just been so pleased with your hearing aids that you haven’t felt the need to go back in. That’s a good thing, right?
Getting your hearing tested
Let’s use Daphne as our imaginary stand-in. Daphne has been noticing some red flags with her hearing for a while now. Her TV volume is getting louder and louder. When she goes out after work to a noisy restaurant, she has trouble following conversations. And so, she goes in to have her hearing checked (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 correctly calibrated, and then gets back to her regular routine.
Problem solved? Well, not quite. Going in for a screening allowed her to recognize her hearing loss early and that’s great. But, over time, follow-up care becomes almost more significant for people with even minor hearing loss. Maintaining routine appointments would be a wise plan for Daphne. However, one study revealed that only about 33% of senior citizens with hearing aids get regular check-ups so Daphne isn’t by herself.
Why do you need check-ups once you get hearing aids?
Remember when we used the glasses metaphor earlier? Daphne’s hearing won’t become static and stop changing just because she uses hearing aids. Her hearing aids will have to be fine-tuned to account for those changes. Any hearing changes can be detected early with regular monitoring.
And that’s not even the only reason why it might be a smart idea to keep routine appointments after you have your hearing aids. Some of the most prevailing reasons to ensure you get to your next appointment include:
- Hearing deterioration: Even with a hearing aid, your hearing may keep deteriorating. Often, this degeneration of your hearing is very slow and without routine examinations, you probably won’t even recognize it. Hearing loss can frequently be slowed by properly adjusting your hearing aids.
- Your fit may change: Because your ears are always changing, it’s very possible that how your hearing aids fit inside of your ears will change. Making certain your hearing aids continue to fit well is a significant part of your regular check-ups.
- Hearing aid calibration: While your overall hearing health may remain stable, small changes in your hearing may produce the need for yearly calibration of your hearing aid. Your hearing aid may become less and less effective if you avoid this calibration.
Hazards and hurdles
The main challenge here is that eventually, the hearing aids Daphne is using will quit working the way they’re meant to, so she’ll get frustrated with them and stop using them entirely. Over time, hearing loss can be slowed by wearing hearing aids. If you stop using them, not only can your hearing diminish faster, you may not detect it right away.
In terms of attaining efficient performance of your hearing aids, and optimal hearing, regular hearing assessments are vital. Safeguard your hearing and make sure your hearing aids are effectively working by getting routine screenings.