Julie Raney is a certified and licensed audiologist. She has a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a Master’s Degree in Audiology from Idaho State University. She has worked as a clinical audiologist in Colorado since 2005. She specializes in hearing amplification for adults and delivers her services in both English and Sign Language.

Latest posts by Julie Raney (see all)

A Closer Look at Common Myths About Hearing Loss - May 7, 2024
The Impact of Pets on Emotional and Hearing Health - April 26, 2024
Strategies for Coping with Single-Sided Deafness - April 16, 2024

It has been a year like no other and now that the New Year is right around the corner, we can look forward to the next one. It’s common to use this holiday as an excuse to start something we’ve always wanted to do such as a sport, a new hobby, finish a project or reconnect an old relationship. It’s important to remember that if your health is not in order, it will be more difficult to start anything new. As hearing health care specialists, we are particularly concerned with hearing health. It often goes overlooked and isn’t included in most insurance plans, which means it’s all too easy to put off. However, ignoring your hearing loss can have serious repercussions which spread to every aspect of your health. Here are a few reasons to make scheduling a hearing test an important resolution to start 2022.

Hearing Loss Is a Serious Condition

You may not think that hearing loss is a big deal. Sometimes you have to ask people to repeat themselves, but for the most part, you are fine. The issue is that these misunderstandings add up. Hearing loss is a progressive condition, meaning that if you have a slight amount of hearing loss now, it will most likely become worse. What starts as having to ask people to repeat themselves now and then evolves into constant miscommunications which can alienate you from social situations. Not just at parties, but in your daily life with family, friends, and co-workers. Over time, with ignored hearing loss, you may find it is hard to enjoy any social situation. These start to become about feeling confused, excluded, and anxious instead of about connecting. Humans are social creatures, making issues with hearing rather serious.

You are Not Alone

You may feel embarrassed about your hearing loss but it’s important to remember that this is a common condition. In the US it is estimated that 15% of adults 18 years of age and older report having some trouble with their hearing. This equals around 48 million people or 1 in 8. While not everyone’s hearing loss is severe enough to warrant treatment, it is believed that 28.8 million adults in the US could benefit from the use of hearing aids. Even so, among adults aged 70 and older with hearing loss who could benefit from hearing aids, fewer than one in three (30 percent) has ever used them. It’s important to remember that hearing loss isn’t an issue that only affects the elderly. While half of the people over the age of 75 do suffer from hearing loss, Statistics from the CDC show that about 12% of adults ages 18-39 report difficulty following a conversation amid background noise.

The Signs of Hearing Loss

No matter your age, it’s always a good idea to monitor your hearing health, especially if you have symptoms. The problem is that many who have hearing loss often are not aware for years. This is because hearing loss develops slowly, so you don’t realize you have lost the sounds of birds in the trees singing, or the rushing of the wind through the tall tops of trees. The first and most notable sign is when you struggle to hear what people have said. Many people will struggle in noisy rooms, while others may struggle with less distraction. If you find yourself asking “What?” more and more often, it can’t hurt to schedule a hearing test. The sooner you diagnose even an early case of hearing loss, the sooner you can prevent dangerous symptoms from progressing. Other common symptoms include speech sounding muffled, feeling confused during the conversation, chronic ringing of the ears (tinnitus), trouble hearing over the phone, or needing to turn the volume up of the TV to hear while others complain it’s too loud.

Discovering Treatment

The most common treatment for hearing loss is hearing aids. When many hear the word, they become defensive as they remember the cumbersome devices their parents or grandparents used to wear. Remember that as the year’s progress, so does technology at a very fast pace. Hearing aids of today are sleek, stylish, more discreet, and with more nuisance and power than ever before. They can amplify only the sounds you need to hear while leaving the rest to be heard with your own hearing. To find out if hearing aids are right for you, start the New Year’s off by scheduling a hearing exam now!