Even if you are not facing any of the mentioned hearing troubles, it is still advisable that you get a hearing test done annually, especially if hearing loss runs in your family. It's not just with the case of hearing impairment as any family heredity of an ailment must be checked for regularly so as to treat it timely. Before heading for a hearing test, it is also important to understand the type of loss. There are many forms of hearing loss and each comes with a particular type of test that helps in determining the severity of the loss.
Hearing loss types & possible treatments
- Out of all the losses, the most common type happens to be the high frequency loss. The age factor plays no role here as it is caused by delayed exposure to high frequency sounds or staying in loud surroundings for a long time.
- Next type is the conductive, which is caused when sound is not allowed to pass through the eardrum or the middle ear system. Being a common problem, it is generally solved by a few treatments as in most of the cases it calls for an ear wax plug getting hampered due to improper hygiene. However, in a few cases it even happens to be a structural issue where the bones near the ear drum happen to be in the wrong place.
- Sensory loss is the other type of hearing loss and is associated with aging. In this type, ear nerves originating from the brain turn weak over time. The weakness eventually leads to a stage where they stop working and cease recognising sounds. One suffers with this deficiency over time due to constant exposure to crowded rooms, movie halls, telephonic and verbal conversations.
How annual hearing test helps?
Getting a hearing test done annually comes with many benefits, the major one being taking peventive and protective measures thereby not letting the problem become worse to handle later on. During the test, if the doctors blame hygiene for the loss then you are suggested the removal of ear wax. In case the damage is minimal then you might also be suggested a hearing therapy to strengthen the nerves. Hearing test done annually also keep a record of the differences in your hearing ability from year to year.
Whenever you come across a hearing loss in your family or experience trouble in understanding the words, music or any type of noise at a normal frequency, opt for an annual hearing test and stop things from turning worse!
Adnan Hafiz is owner of Global Hearing, a Melbourne based hearing clinic that provides hearing aid services and hearing test in Melbourne.