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## Do I Have Hearing Loss | Self-Assessment

If you think you may be experiencing hearing loss, it’s crucial you visit an audiologist as soon as possible. They can test to see if your suspicions are correct and, if needed, fit you with hearing aids that provide a whole new world of sound.

You may want to start the process with a quick self-assessment to determine if it’s time to get your hearing professionally evaluated.

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### Risk Factors

Forty-eight million Americans are living with hearing loss. There are certain conditions that make it more likely that you fall into this group. If you have one or more of the following risk factors, you may want to get tested as a precaution.

The biggest risk factor for developing hearing loss is aging. Hearing loss can strike at any time, but your chance of becoming hearing impaired increases exponentially as you get older.

Two percent of adults between the ages of 45 and 54 have noticeable hearing loss. That percentage jumps to 8.5 percent for adults ages 55 to 64 and reaches 25 percent among people between the ages of 65 and 74. By the time you are 75, you have a 50 percent chance of needing hearing aids.

### Hearing Loss Is Common

Hearing loss is also more common among:

- Musicians
- People who often attend concerts or sporting events
- People who’ve undergone radiation therapy
- People who work in a noisy environment
- Someone who’s experienced recurrent ear infections
- Those with diabetes as well as certain autoimmune diseases

### Signs You May Have Hearing Loss

It may sound strange, but people often need help recognizing whether they have hearing loss. It’s a condition that can creep up unnoticed. You might have failed to notice your diminishing hearing because its progress is so gradual. Meanwhile, you may have unconsciously developed ways to compensate for your undiagnosed hearing loss.

### Talk to Your Family and Friends

Often, family and friends notice your hearing loss before you do. If you want to determine whether you need hearing help, start by talking to the people you see every day. They can tell you if they’ve noticed signs you’re not hearing well.

### Ask Questions

There are also some questions you can ask yourself. How many of the following signs of hearing loss have you experienced?

- Conversations are drowned out when you’re in a noisy environment
- Everyone seems to be mumbling
- It’s harder to pick up the voices of women and children
- Others complain you’re turning up the TV or your music too loud
- You constantly have to ask people to repeat themselves
- You get lost in conversations where multiple people are talking at the same time
- You have trouble hearing whispers
- You often miss the keywords in a sentence
- You sometimes don’t hear the doorbell or telephone
- You’re tired from straining to hear what people are saying

If you want to further explore the possibility that you have hearing loss, you can take this online hearing test offered by the Starkey hearing aid company. While it can’t substitute for a diagnosis, it may provide the final answer to a pressing question:” Is it time for me to head for an audiologist?”

### Get Tested at Echo and Embrace Your Best Hearing

After being diagnosed with hearing loss, the average person waits more than 10 years to get a hearing aid, according to the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

One problem with this procrastination is that if you go too long without hearing certain sounds, your brain can lose the ability to process them, even when you’re wearing hearing aids.

Research has also shown that having untreated hearing loss also increases your chance of developing memory problems like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Untreated hearing loss has many other negative side effects, including:

- Anxiety, depression, and irritability
- Concentration problems
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Increased social isolation
- Problems communicating with your spouse, friends, and family
- Safety concerns

### Visit Us Today

At Echo Hearing, we see hearing loss as a problem, but one that’s very treatable. There’s never been such a wide array of choices when it comes to hearing aid style and technology.

If you suspect your once-rich sense of hearing is being replaced by the sounds of silence, we encourage you to contact us to arrange a hearing test.

### Schedule an Appointment

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