When you’re selecting the screening tests you need for your hearing, there are a lot of factors at play. You want to make good choices that balance your health needs with more pragmatic considerations like insurance, cost, and time. At SLENT Hearing & Balance Center, we can help you make the right decisions. With this in mind, today we explore whether there is any reason to get a hearing test before problems with your ears have a strong impact on your life.
Use it or lose it
Our bodies and mind thrive on input. If we don’t use our muscles, they waste away. Similarly, if we don’t stimulate the hearing nerves, the brain begins to create new patterns to adapt to the lack of stimulation. Even if better levels of hearing are restored after that, the damage is already done. In the meantime, you experience a greater degree of hearing loss than you would if we picked up issues early and offered you hearing support.
Other health issues
Hearing problems can indicate an underlying health issue. They are increasingly linked to heart disease, for example. The apparatus in your ear is sensitive to changes in blood flow. This means your health care provider can sometimes detect serious health issues in the ear before they manifest in other parts of the body.
Some health conditions have the potential to get worse if you have a hearing loss which isn’t picked up early. Someone who has dementia, for example, can seem disconnected from the world. This is usually attributed to their condition. However, it may be that they simply cannot hear properly. Left undetected, the extra social isolation can make dementia worse.
Changing your lifestyle choices
Lifestyle factors can have a detrimental effect on your hearing, especially if you already have minor hearing issues. If you aren’t fully aware of hearing difficulties early on, you can cause more damage to your hearing unintentionally. Getting professional advice can help you to reduce the harm you are doing to your hearing.
At SLENT Hearing & Balance Center, we check whether you are smoking, working in a noisy environment, or regularly exposing your ears to harmful conditions such as water or cold. Stepping in early and following our advice can improve your hearing in the long-term.
Steps to early hearing loss detection
These are just some of the reasons why early hearing loss detection can have a positive impact on your short-term experience and long-term health. We look forward to talking to you more about the benefits of excellent auditory care.
Visit SLENT Hearing & Balance Center to be sure you get information about your hearing loss early enough to prevent it from getting any worse. Schedule an assessment at one of our three offices by visiting the website today.
