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As we age, most of us tend to begin incorporating health-focused intentions into our New Year’s resolutions. While our younger years might have been centered around building family or professional careers, what we probably want most in the future is ease and vibrancy as we get older.
Consider the role of healthy hearing in your current lifestyle and its importance in helping you to maintain fulfilling relationships, enjoy various hobbies and recreational activities, effortlessly travel and seek out new experiences, plus engage fully and perform with confidence in your professional life.
With all of that going for you, why leave it up to fate to decide whether your hearing will continue to support your full life or if it will begin to obstruct the activities and relationships you value most?
This New Year, consider adding healthy hearing onto your priorities list.
How often should you get your hearing checked?
In a 2021 survey conducted by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, a majority of respondents readily recognized how important healthy hearing is. They were aware that hearing loss can lead to isolation and depression, among other negative outcomes. However, most hadn’t undergone a simple hearing test in the recent past. This survey reflects American behavior in that we are significantly more likely to have our vision tested or schedule a colonoscopy than visit an audiologist for a hearing exam.
Depending on your age, the last time you might have had a hearing screening could be back in your schoolyard days. A good rule of thumb is to have your medical provider do a hearing screen every decade until your fiftieth birthday. At that time, bump up the regularity to once every three years. Of course, if you’ve noticed changes in your hearing, schedule a consultation as soon as possible.
Types of hearing loss
The reason people over 50 years of age need to have their hearing checked more often is that the largest predictor for hearing loss is age. Once we are 65, one-third of our peers will have hearing loss. After age 85, half of us will demonstrate hearing loss in both ears.
Time spent on the earth has a lot to do with natural declines in hearing. Age-related hearing loss is the leading cause of challenged hearing, which happens when the integral cells of the inner ear decay due to the natural aging process. These cells are responsible for receiving sound and transmitting it to the brain. They are non-regenerative which means that they do not repair themselves when harmed or repopulate when lost. Instead, we simply hear less.
Noise-induced hearing loss is the second leading cause of hearing loss later in life. This happens when our ears are exposed to excessive noise, damaging those important inner ear cells.
Both types of hearing loss are irreversible, but they can both be treated successfully with hearing aids or other hearing devices to restore a greater wealth of sound back into your life.
Ways to protect your hearing
By prioritizing your hearing health this year, you’re committing to being aware of the listening environments and behaviors that your ears are exposed to. Any sounds over 85 decibels, the unit of measurement for sound, can be potentially harmful to your ears.
Luckly, today’s smartphones make it easy to monitor our sound exposure. Your health app on an iPhone will let you know the sound input of your earbuds so that you can make sure to keep the volume moderate. If you don’t have access to that technology, try to keep volume levels at mid-range and do not exceed more than two-thirds of the full volume.
You can even download apps that turn your smartphone into a decibel measuring instrument! This way, you can monitor external situations like movie theaters, concerts, and noisy hobbies you might partake in. If your environmental measurements often exceed 85 decibels, consider investing in hearing protection to prolong your good hearing health.
Schedule a hearing test today
Healthy hearing in the long term starts with knowing where you stand today and building the habit of frequent hearing checks. Make an appointment for a hearing consultation today with our team of hearing experts. We’ll lead you through the quick and easy process of a hearing exam and keep you firmly on your road to healthy hearing through the decades.