Hearing challenges in my 50s? That’s preposterous!
I’m still young, in the prime of my life, and hearing problems are something that happens when you’re in your 70s or older.
Why should I have hearing tests when I’m still in my 50s?
The following statistics from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders (NIDCD) may be all the motivation you need. More than 60 million Americans under the age of 69 are exposed to damaging noise levels at work, and 18 million are exposed to non-occupational hearing damage.
That means your risk of developing hearing loss before you are in your 60s is increasing with each passing year.
Here is the bottom line. Our world is noisier than it used to be, we are exposed to more and more ototoxic chemicals than ever before, and, to top it off, we now have the capacity to blast our ears with music, videos, and video games at damaging levels from our smartphones through high-tech earphones and earbuds.
Frequent hearing assessments are an important part of staying ahead of the damage done to your hearing before it becomes a significant health issue.
At Magnolia Hearing, it isn’t a requirement to be over 70 to have your hearing tested. In fact, if you’re in your 50s, we encourage you to have a hearing assessment every couple of years. Here’s why.
The Benefits of a Hearing Test
Do you know what happens when hearing loss remains untreated?
Whatever damage is causing your initial hearing challenges can continue to get worse if left untreated, but that’s not all that is going on. Hearing loss leads to a variety of psychological health issues as well as negative physical conditions like dementia and balance disorders, just to name a few.
All of these issues are preventable if addressed in time!
Having frequent hearing tests is a positive, proactive step to ensure better hearing and an improved quality of life as you age by:
- Establishing a measurable baseline number against which changes to your hearing can be compared
- Allowing you to take control with preventative measures to protect your hearing against various environmental toxins and noise damage
- Making it possible for you to decide when it is time to get help from hearing aids and monitor how well they are performing
- Allowing you to prevent cognitive decline and other negative mental and physical health conditions
What’s holding you back?
The Hearing Aid Stigma
The first thing that holds most people back is the stigma attached to hearing aids. After all, only old people wear hearing aids, and you’re certainly not old! If I’m wearing hearing aids, I’m admitting to the world that I’m old and broken.
You may see things that way, but we see them differently. For us, the fact that you may need a little help with your hearing just means that you have lived a life full of thousands of wonderful experiences, some of them a bit too loud, and we want to make sure that you enjoy thousands more.
The outdated hearing aid stigma has many of our patients coming in for a test feeling doomed to a life of mediocrity. However, most are surprised at what they learn about their hearing and leave their appointments feeling confident about their hearing, themselves, and their futures.
What a Magnolia Hearing Test Looks Like
It’s not as scary as you might think.
Your audiologist will start off by having a conversation about your health history, family history, occupation, hobbies, and social activities. Not only is this a fun way to get to know you better, but it also reveals certain areas of your risk for hearing loss.
The next part of our test is a physical examination of your ears. Sometimes the ear canal is blocked by a bug or debris, earwax, a growth, or inflammation. So in some cases, your hearing challenges are easily taken care of with a good cleaning or antibiotics.
After the physical examination of your ears, we’ll conduct a series of noninvasive tests to pinpoint the type and severity of any hearing loss you might be experiencing as well as measure its effect on how well you process speech in a noisy environment.
The best news is that you don’t have to wait for your test results—you’ll have them before you leave. Your audiologist will show you your test results, explain what they mean, and discuss the various solutions needed to help you achieve better hearing.
Become Proactive About Your Hearing Health
There’s no point in waiting for hearing loss to have the upper hand in your life.
If you are over the age of 50, we highly recommend that you begin to have hearing wellness tests every couple of years. These hearing wellness checks can help safeguard your future—your social life, work life, and family life.
Take a proactive approach to staying in control of your hearing health and your quality of life for decades to come by scheduling a hearing assessment at Magnolia Hearing by using this link or calling us at (206) 657-5675.
