By Rachel Trinker, Au.D., CCC-A, Head of Audiology at CLARIA
When we think about taking care of our health, we often think of eating well, staying active, getting enough sleep, and attending routine medical appointments. But another aspect of well-being is easy to overlook: hearing health.
Hearing plays an essential role in how we communicate, connect with those around us, and participate in everyday life. That's why you shouldn't wait until you have difficulty hearing to start taking care of your hearing. Like many other areas of health, hearing deserves preventive attention.
Integrate hearing checks into your routine
Most people wouldn't hesitate for a second to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist if their vision changed, but changes in hearing are easier to ignore.
Hearing loss often develops gradually. You may notice that conversations seem less clear, that you turn up the TV volume a little, or that you have more difficulty understanding speech in restaurants and other noisy environments. As these changes occur slowly, people adapt without realizing the extent of the change.
A hearing test can establish a baseline and identify changes over time. If you have noticed a difference in your hearing, or if those around you have pointed it out, it's worth getting it checked. Even if you don't experience any difficulties, having a baseline measurement will give you a point of comparison if your hearing changes in the future.
Be mindful of your daily experiences
Auditory well-being is not just about the results of a hearing test. As an audiologist, I encourage everyone to pay attention to how they hear in situations that matter in their daily lives.
Do you more often ask people to repeat themselves? Do you have to concentrate more to follow a conversation? Do group situations become more frustrating? Have you started to avoid situations where it's difficult to hear?
These daily experiences are valuable clues that it's time to pay more attention to your hearing.
Take a preventive approach to your hearing health
You don't have to wait for hearing to become a major problem to take action. Protecting your ears from loud sounds, adopting safe listening habits, having your hearing evaluated when appropriate, and addressing hearing difficulties as they arise can all be part of a healthy routine.
This National Wellness Month, consider adding hearing to your wellness checklist. Taking care of your health also means being mindful of how you perceive the world around you, and hearing is an essential component of that.
