{"id":56205,"date":"2025-05-06T18:02:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prosfunds.com\/?p=56205"},"modified":"2025-05-06T18:03:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:03:08","slug":"the-case-for-early-hearing-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prosfunds.com\/?p=56205","title":{"rendered":"The Case For Early Hearing Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The author took an online hearing test, learned how important it is to test early, and tried out a hearing aid<\/h2>\n

\u201cWhat\u201d is the most commonly used word in my household! That\u2019s a statement, not a question. My \u201cwhat\u201d is usually followed by my wife repeating what she just said to me.<\/p>\n

Ok, yes, I have some hearing loss. And while some may joke that I have selective hearing loss focused on my wife\u2019s soft voice, the fact remains that certain pitches and words are not as clear to me as they used to be.<\/p>\n

I can blame my hearing loss on the Cream concert I attended years ago where I was just a few feet from the giant speaker blasting Eric Clapton\u2019s guitar riffs \u2014 it took me days to recover. Or maybe it was scuba diving when I accidentally found myself below 100 feet. While those incidents might exacerbate the condition, the fact is that I\u2019m 77 years old and some cells in the cochlea, the part of my inner ear that transits sound to my brain, have died, never to regenerate.<\/p>\n

But hearing loss is not just about loudness. \u201cWhile we pick up sound with our ears, that sound needs to be processed and interpreted in our brain,\u201d Dr. Heather Andrews, an audiologist in Clarksville, TN, told me. \u201cPeople with hearing loss may hear the sound but it doesn\u2019t reach the brain effectively. Your brain then starts to lose the ability to process sound, like a muscle that atrophies when you don\u2019t use it. And,\u201d Andrews continued, \u201cyou can then gradually lose the ability to process speech, even with amplification.\u201d That, she says, is a significant development, sometimes tied to increased risk of dementia.<\/p>\n

Most hearing loss is a gradual process. As we age, we start losing our ability to distinguish the sounds at the higher frequencies \u2014 female voices are at those higher frequencies. But we don\u2019t realize it because our brains have the ability to compensate for what we don\u2019t hear. It fills in the gaps, much like the \u201cAuto Correct\u201d process we see on our iPhones. And yes, like our phones, our brain sometimes misinterpret the words, leading to some funny examples, like the mondegreen: Creedance Clearwater\u2019s \u201cThere\u2019s a bathroom on the right\u201d instead of \u201cThere\u2019s a bad moon on the rise.\u201d Consonants, especially, are often confused. When I introduce myself \u2014 \u201cHi, I\u2019m Bart,\u201d \u2014 the person in front me sometimes responds, \u201cHi, Mark, nice to meet you.\u201d He probably didn\u2019t actually hear the B in my name so the \u201cAuto Correct\u201d in his brain assumed that my name is \u201cMark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith hearing loss, your brain is only getting pieces of a message. Hearing aids can give you more pieces to work with, but your brain still needs to put them together,\u201d Andrews continued. This is why it takes time and practice to adjust to a hearing aid. It’s also why people who wait years to treat their hearing loss may have more difficulty adjusting to hearing aids and may not find as much benefit in understanding speech as someone who started managing their hearing loss early on.<\/p>\n

So when an over-the-counter manufacturer of hearing aids reached out to me, I jumped at the chance to try one of the products they offer. Donning ear buds, I took the online hearing test which, they explained, would provide a basic notion of the kind of hearing loss I have. A full exam with a professional would yield a great deal more, but this online test would be sufficient. And if I needed hearing aids, the equipment itself is programmed to adjust to my specific needs, that is, create settings for specific frequencies that I\u2019m not able to process as well. After the exam, I met by Zoom with audiologist Heather Andrews, who was referred to me by Zepp Clarity, a manufacturer of hearing aids. Dr. Andrews confirmed that yes, indeed, I have \u201cmild to moderate hearing loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together we chose an appropriate set of hearing aids, those that wrap around my ear and have all the bells and whistles I want. Like others sold over the counter, bluetooth is installed so I can talk on my phone or listen to music without disturbing anyone around. It has rechargeable batteries and various settings I can select or adjust using an app on my phone. There are pre-set adjustments for when I\u2019m in a crowd, walking outside, watching TV, or when I need a clarity boost that amplifies speech frequencies and reduces background noise. There are, of course, smaller and simpler models that fit directly into the ear but many of those do not have the range of settings that I wanted to try out.<\/p>\n

Installing the hearing aids was a snap, and with Dr. Andrew\u2019s guidance, I chose the correct hood so the earpieces fit snugly into my ear without discomfort. Hoods also help filter out some background noise, one of the chief complaints of hearing aid wearers.<\/p>\n

My first reaction:<\/strong> Everything is so loud! I could almost hear my heart beating. I certainly heard all the birds chirping, and when I was moving around outside I could hear the wind whistling. Switching to \u201coutside\u201d mode helped to moderate the whistle sound, especially when I turned the volume down.<\/p>\n

Second reaction:<\/strong> Everything I hear sounds amplified, because, well, it is. Sounds are coming from a speaker in my ear. The key will be whether spoken words are not just louder, but also easier for my brain to process as words. Switching to \u201cclarity boost\u201d mode helped make dialog a bit easier to understand while watching TV.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard this said before, and based on my limited experience with hearing aids, I agree that they can change your world. I liken it to when I had cataract surgery and the surgeon replaced my yellowing, cloudy lens with a brand spankin\u2019 new one. Wow, I thought, I hadn\u2019t seen blue that bright in years. And the whites. Whew, they\u2019re almost blinding.<\/p>\n

12 Signs That Say You Should Get Your Hearing Checked<\/strong><\/h3>\n