You will still see your eye doctor every year even if you already wear eyeglasses. Because your eyes change as time passes. Like the rest of your body, your eyes aren’t fixed and neither are your ears. That’s why, much like your eyes, it’s essential to keep having your ears assessed even after you’ve purchased a nice pair of hearing aids.
Many people, unfortunately, neglect those yearly appointments. Perhaps they’ve been too busy enjoying their lives to get back in to see your physician. Or, it might be that your job has been hectic lately. Or perhaps you’ve just decided to not go back in because you’re so satisfied with your hearing aids. It seems as if that would be good, right?
Scheduling a hearing assessment
Let’s use Daphne as our imaginary stand-in. Daphne has been noticing some red flags with her hearing for some time now. Her TV volume is getting louder and louder. When she goes out after work to a noisy restaurant, she has a hard time following conversations. And so, she goes to get her hearing tested (because she’s smart and she takes care of herself).
Daphne makes sure to follow all of the steps to manage her hearing impairment: she gets fitted for new hearing aids and has them properly calibrated, and then gets back to her normal routine.
Problem solved? Well, maybe not completely. Going in for an exam allowed her to catch her hearing loss early and that’s great. But, over time, follow-up care becomes almost more important for individuals with even a small amount of hearing loss. Daphne would be doing herself a favor by going to regular appointments. But Daphne’s not alone in neglected check-ups, according to one survey, only 33% of senior citizens using hearing aids also scheduled regular hearing services.
If you already have hearing aids, why do you need check-ups?
Okay, remember our glasses metaphor? Just because Daphne uses hearing aids now doesn’t mean her hearing will become fixed and stop changing. Her hearing aids will have to be fine-tuned to counter those changes. Any hearing changes can be discovered early with periodic monitoring.
And that’s not even the only reason why it may be a smart idea to keep routine appointments after you have your hearing aids. Some of the most common reasons to make sure you make it to your next check-up include:
- Your fit may change: It’s likely that there will be a change in how your hearing aids fit as your ears are always changing. Routine check-ups can help ensure that your hearing aids keep fitting the way they’re designed to.
- Hearing aid calibration: Your hearing changes in slight ways, and while your overall hearing may remain consistent, these small changes may require you to get regular hearing examinations. Your hearing aid may become less and less effective if you skip this calibration.
- Hearing deterioration: Even with a hearing aid, your hearing could keep deteriorating. Frequently, this degeneration of your hearing is quite slow and without regular examinations, you probably won’t even notice it. Hearing decline can frequently be slowed by properly fine-tuning your hearing aids.
Hazards and roadblocks
The problem is, Daphne may, in her frustration, quit using her hearing aids altogether because they’re not working correctly. Wearing hearing aids helps slow down hearing loss over time. 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 at an optimal level, regular check-ups are going to be your best bet in terms of achieving that. Safeguard your hearing and ensure your hearing aids are properly working by getting regular screenings.