You will still see your eye doctor yearly even if you already use eyeglasses. Because your eyes change as time passes. Nothing in your body is fixed, not your eyes and not, as it happens, your ears either. That’s why, much like your eyes, it’s essential to keep getting your ears examined even after you’ve invested in a nice pair of hearing aids.
Unfortunately, many people miss those routine check-ups. Maybe a visit to their doctor is taking a back seat to enjoying life. Or perhaps, work has been particularly hectic this year. Or perhaps you’ve just decided not to go back in because you’re so happy with your hearing aids. That should be a good thing, right?
Scheduling a hearing exam
Let’s take Daphne as a fictional example. For some time now, Daphne has noted some symptoms connected to her hearing. She keeps turning the TV up. When she goes out after work to a noisy restaurant, she has difficulty following conversations. And because she enjoys taking care of herself, and she’s smart, she schedules a hearing assessment.
Daphne makes certain 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 normal routine.
Problem solved? Well, maybe not completely. It’s fantastic that Daphne went in for a hearing test and discovered her hearing issues early. But, over time, follow-up care becomes almost more significant for people with even a small amount of hearing loss. Maintaining routine appointments would be a wise idea for Daphne. But Daphne isn’t alone in bypassing check-ups, based on one survey, just 33% of senior citizens with hearing aids also maintained regular hearing services.
Why do you need hearing exams once you get hearing aids?
Remember when we used the glasses metaphor earlier? Daphne’s hearing won’t become fixed and stop changing just because she uses hearing aids. Her hearing aids will need to be fine-tuned to counter those changes. Any hearing changes can be discovered early with regular monitoring.
And there are other benefits to getting routine hearing assessments after you get hearing aids. Here are some of the most significant reasons:
- Hearing aid calibration: While your general hearing health may continue to be stable, slight changes in your hearing may create the need for annual calibration of your hearing aid. Without this calibration, your hearing aids may slowly become less and less effective.
- Your fit may change: It’s likely that there will be a shift in how your hearing aids fit as your ears are always changing. Making certain your hearing aids continue to fit properly is a significant part of your regular check-ups.
- Hearing deterioration: Your hearing could continue to worsen even if you use hearing aids. If this deterioration is slow enough, you most likely won’t realize it’s happening without the help of a hearing test. Hearing loss can often be slowed by properly fine-tuning your hearing aids.
Dangers and roadblocks
The ultimate challenge here is that eventually, the hearing aids Daphne is wearing will stop working the way they’re meant to, so she’ll get frustrated with them and stop using them altogether. Wearing hearing aids helps slow down hearing loss over time. Your hearing will deteriorate faster if you quit wearing your hearing aids and you most likely won’t even detect it.
As far as achieving optimal performance of your hearing aids, and optimal hearing, routine hearing assessments are essential. Protect your hearing and make sure your hearing aids are effectively working by getting regular screenings.