You will still see your eye doctor every year even if you already use eyeglasses. Because your eyes change over time. Nothing in your body is fixed, not your eyes and not, as it happens, your ears either. That’s why, just as it is with your eyes, it’s essential to keep having your ears checked even after you’ve invested in a nice pair of hearing aids.
Many people, unfortunately, skip those annual appointments. Maybe they’ve been too occupied enjoying their lives to get back in to see your physician. Or perhaps, work has been particularly stressful this year. Or maybe, you’ve just been so pleased with your hearing aids that you haven’t felt the need to go back in. It seems as if that would be good, right?
Scheduling a hearing test
Let’s use Daphne as our imaginary stand-in. For some time now, Daphne has noted some symptoms associated with her hearing. Her TV volume is getting louder and louder. She has a hard time understanding discussions at after-work happy hours in loud restaurants. And because she enjoys taking care of herself, and she’s smart, she schedules a hearing exam.
Daphne makes certain to follow all of the instructions to manage her hearing impairment: she purchases hearing aids, which are then correctly fitted and calibrated, and then she goes on with her life.
Issue solved? Well, maybe not completely. Going in for an exam allowed her to recognize her hearing loss early and that’s excellent. But for most people with hearing impairment, even a minor one, follow-up care becomes almost more vital in the long run. Keeping up on regular appointments would be a wise idea for Daphne. But Daphne isn’t alone in bypassing check-ups, based on one study, just 33% of seniors using hearing aids also maintained routine hearing services.
Why do you need check-ups once you have hearing aids?
Alright, remember our glasses metaphor? Just because Daphne has hearing aids now doesn’t mean her hearing will become fixed and stop changing. It’s important to adjust the hearing aids to counter those changes. Periodic testing helps keep track of any changes in hearing and catch issues early.
And there are other benefits to having routine hearing assessments after you get hearing aids. Here are some of the most significant reasons:
- Your fit may change: Because your hearing is always changing, it’s quite possible that the way your hearing aids fit around and in your ears will shift. Making certain your hearing aids continue to fit well is a significant part of your regular exam.
- Hearing degeneration: Even with a hearing aid, your hearing could continue to deteriorate. Frequently, this deterioration of your hearing is very slow and without routine screenings, you most likely won’t even notice it. Hearing decline can often be slowed by correctly adjusting your hearing aids.
- Hearing aid calibration: Your hearing changes in slight ways, and while your overall hearing may remain stable, these small changes could require you to get regular hearing tests. Without this calibration, your hearing aids may slowly become less and less useful.
Dangers and hurdles
The issue is, Daphne may, in her frustration, quit using her hearing aids entirely because they’re not functioning properly. Over time, hearing loss can be slowed by using hearing aids. Your hearing will decline faster if you quit using your hearing aids and you probably won’t even detect it.
If you want your hearing aids to continue working efficiently, regular exams are going to be your best option in terms of attaining that. Safeguard your hearing and ensure your hearing aids are effectively working by getting routine screenings.