With most things in life…when we involve other people we make memories and our experience becomes more diverse. With our health needs it is important to take a team approach. If you notice something is not quite right with your health then you let your doctor know. If you are having a problem with a tooth then you tell your dentist…you don’t wait for your dentist to ask you if you are having a tooth ache. The same goes true for your hearing.
If you notice that you are not hearing well then it is important to reach out to a qualified hearing health care professional and pursue an answer to your difficulties. If you do not know who to go to then ask your doctors. Ask your friends. Find out who in your community has the ability to solve your problems. It may be as simple as wax. Perhaps you are having dizziness or tinnitus/ringing in the ears.
Impacted ear wax can contribute to both of these issues. A complete patient profile and consultation should be performed. Input from you…the patient, will reveal many important details as to your specific requirements. Everyone 50 years of age should get a through hearing evaluation. If you do not have a hearing loss then you should still get a hearing test annually, for monitoring purposes. Just like you monitor your eyes, your heart, your cholesterol… you should keep up to date testing records for your hearing. Your heart health and your brain health are related to your hearing.
If you need hearing instruments or already wear them then it is necessary to become an active participant in the process. Huh? Your hearing health care provider should set you appointments to come in and have your hearing aids and YOUR EARS cleaned. The time frame for appointments will vary depending upon the amount of wax that you produce. At the most…you should not go more than 6 months before cleaning. If you produce more wax or wear instruments that close up your ear canals then you may be on a much shorter time span for appointments. Are there things you can do to help with the wax issues? Yes. There are drops that can be used on a weekly basis. Your ears can be flushed by your hearing health care provider. Our flushing protocol takes just a few minutes and often is the preferred choice if patients are on blood thinners.
Again, it is important that you communicate with your hearing health care provider about how you are hearing and understanding. While advanced technology hearing aids today are a computer and utilize data logging for analyzing your hearing aids; THERE IS NOTHING MORE VALUABLE THAN THE WORDS THAT YOU TELL US!
Being an active participant also means to involve the whole team. If you are having difficulties with understanding a specific person then bring them to your appointment with you. If your spouse can’t understand you then it is important for you to be at the appointment when we are adjusting the hearing aids. Real ear measurement and speech mapping should be used to verify that the hearing instruments are performing in your ears as they are meant too. Speech mapping also allows us to measure when someone is speaking and adjust the instruments in “real-time” to dial in that person.
Sometimes as we age, our voices get softer. Maybe you have changed how far away you sit from each other in the living room. Many things change. Most things can be improved and corrected.
Better hearing is a process. It is a journey that you must take together with your loved ones, friends, and your hearing health care provider. To Hear Better Is To Live Better!
By: Roseann B. Kiefer, B.A., BC-HIS