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You've noticed you don't hear quite as well anymore, and it's starting to become a problem. You're tired of asking, "What?" and requesting that people repeat themselves. But you CAN still hear a lot of things ... just not everything.
Around one in every seven people in the United States has some form of hearing loss, according to the Hearing Loss Association of America. And while it’s a problem that does disproportionately impact older adults, people of any age can have difficulty hearing.
You may not think it’s a big deal to forego hearing aids if you can still hear some things. But not getting help for hearing loss is associated with things like depression and social isolation, which are both bad for your health. Even more alarming is that recent research has shown there may be a connection between untreated hearing loss and developing dementia.
So, should you try hearing aids? Or are there other ways to mitigate mild to moderate hearing loss? An audiologist has answers.
The toll that hearing loss takes on your life
Maybe you’ve dismissed your hearing loss because it doesn’t stop you from doing anything, or it doesn’t affect you all the time.
Still, any amount of hearing loss affects your quality of life, even in small ways that you might not realize at first. Maybe you can communicate just fine in quiet settings, but going to events or conversing in public with background noise makes it tricky. Or maybe you can’t hear music as well or the everyday sounds of your house like the way your floors creak when you walk across them.
What you don’t hear depends on what type of hearing loss you have — and it varies from person to person.
“For someone who has more of a high frequency loss, they are likely going to miss more consonant sounds that help with clarity in speech. If a person has more low frequency loss, they may be missing more vowels or the volume and power behind speech,” says Carly Cox, a clinical audiologist who sees patients at the Otolaryngology Clinic at UW Medical Center – Northwest.
Not being able to hear everything might mean you nod and smile rather than engage in conversation, or avoid conversations altogether. If this keeps happening, you might start feeling anxious or stressed when you’re in situations where hearing is more difficult.
“Because hearing loss is an ‘invisible’ disability, it may be difficult to advocate for yourself or explain why you may struggle in certain situations,” Cox says. “Many people may also feel embarrassed by their hearing loss due to the negative stigma attached to hearing aids.”
How to communicate better with hearing loss
But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re not ready for hearing aids just yet, here are Cox’s tips for making hard-to-hear interactions a little easier.
Talk with your doctor
Make sure your doctor — and any other medical providers you see regularly, like your dentist or eye doctor — know that you have a hard time hearing things sometimes. That way, they can make an effort to speak to you more clearly. You can also ask for written information or summaries after appointments to make sure you aren’t missing anything. Bringing a family member or close friend with you to an appointment might also be helpful.
Rely on written communication more
Ask your supervisor or colleagues to send you written meeting agendas and summaries, or ask a friend to send a text with all the details for your next meetup.
Be open about your everyday communication needs
Advocate for yourself with your family and people you see regularly by asking them to get your attention before speaking with you, to talk a little louder, to speak face to face, or to turn off the microwave or blender before talking with you.
“It may seem annoying to them at first, but eventually they should learn that good communication habits benefit not only you but anyone they communicate with,” Cox says.
Make an appointment with an audiologist
If you’re noticing increased difficulties communicating or interacting with others or are missing sounds that you once loved (like the music of your favorite TV show), it’s time to make an appointment with an audiologist. You can ask your primary care doctor for a referral.
The audiologist can perform a simple hearing test to determine your degree of hearing loss — which might be different in each ear.
“The audiologist can also give you information on predicted benefit from hearing aids based on speech testing and configuration of loss,” Cox says. “During a hearing test, we can get an idea of how well someone will do with hearing aids. We do this with speech testing, which involves having the patient repeat words when presented to each ear. While this test does not replicate a real-life scenario (like trying to hear a conversation in a restaurant), it can help us to know if the patient is able to discriminate words when presented at a subjectively comfortable level.”
Don’t be afraid to try hearing aids
So, is it time to try hearing aids? This really depends. Anyone who has mild to moderate hearing difficulties can be a good candidate for hearing aids, Cox says, no matter your age. To figure out specifically what would work best for you, you need to work with an audiologist.
Despite the stigma around using them, hearing aids can be incredibly helpful. Even if you’re initially on the fence about using them, once you try them out and see how much they help, you might feel differently.
Hearing aids these days aren’t just assistive devices, either.
“We can connect hearing aids to your smartphone in order to stream music, podcasts and calls directly — replacing the need for wireless headphones,” Cox says. “You can also control the devices through an app on your phone to adjust volume, programs and other hearing aid features.”
So, sure, they’re hearing aids, but they’re also high-tech earbuds — which is pretty cool. And if you aren’t ready for doctor-prescribed hearing aids just yet, there are over-the-counter models that have similar features that you can configure yourself using your smartphone. Because they aren’t as customized to your needs, you may have some issues with them, like how well they fit in your ears or what to do if one of them stops working. But they can still be helpful and give you a chance to dip your toes in and see how you feel about using such devices.
“I still recommend seeing an audiologist if you plan on purchasing over-the-counter hearing aid, because having a baseline hearing test is a great thing to add to your medical portfolio and it can be a way to see if there is something else going on that needs to be treated first," Cox says.
At the end of the day, hearing loss is a legitimate issue, even if it’s on the mild side. It’s understandable if it upsets you and is affecting your quality of life — but there are options to help you start hearing more clearly again.
