In this insightful session, we break down the stages of handling hearing loss, from initial self-doubt to taking proactive measures. Learn about the importance of professional evaluations, the benefits of living skillfully with hearing aids, and how to restart with newfound clarity and understanding. This episode is a must-listen for anyone dealing with hearing challenges or supporting loved ones through their journey.
May is Better Hearing Month, and how do you celebrate it? By getting your hearing screened. That's how. Test your ears at 50 years has been a line we've used countless times here on Sound Advice. And Doug Leonard is back in the studio, and we're going to say it again, Doug. Test your ears at 50 years. You've got a great article from Gail Hannon. We talk about her a lot, too. She talks about her hearing loss journey in this article. And I think it's a great one for people who are maybe thinking they have a problem or anybody living with someone with a problem.
Yeah, and we all know those folks in our lives that, you know, when you visit with them, that communication is a challenge. And oftentimes that person themselves doesn't really recognize it. So, yeah, Gil kind of broke down her journey or typical journey for someone with hearing impairment. So she said, you know, number one is debating with yourself. And that's that person, again, who, you know, maybe hasn't had their diagnostic evaluation, hasn't had a hearing test since grade school. And so they are still thinking, well, do I really have a problem? You know, it can't be me. It must be the way my wife talks or my husband talks or kids these days don't talk plain. You know, so that person's debating and deciding whether there really is an issue themselves.
You're making an excuse. I had the same thing and I had a heart attack. I was symptoms right there. I was debating it in my head. So that probably is the biggest stage.
It is. And it's one of those stages that, you know, you had said off air and it was correct that it's one of those stages that lasts forever. You know, I think they say the average patient before they come in, you know, it's seven to 10 years once they maybe recognize that there's something wrong before they actually have an evaluation and do something about their problem.
Number two is validating your hearing loss. What does that mean?
Well, that's actually coming in and have that diagnostic evaluation. A validation of that is, yes, there is a problem. And how do you determine that? By seeing an audiologist. And not even just a hearing screening, but a whole diagnostic evaluation, because that tells us, is there a problem? What type of problem it is? It could be conductive hearing loss. It could be related to a middle ear issue or external ear issue. It could be a medically involved hearing loss that the patient needs to see an ear, nose, and throat doctor for. Or it could be just standard what we call presbycusis, just age-related hearing loss. That validation is important because it backs up what everybody else in that patient's life realized was going on at the time.
Number three is probably the most important, taking charge. It's making that decision to do something about it.
Yeah, taking charge and then three and four were that, taking charge and then living skillfully with hearing loss. That kind of let life happen to them. You know, oh, something happened. Well, we're in charge. We can do something about that. If you have a hearing loss, you can be proactive. You can let other folks know that you have a hearing problem. You can mute the television when you're trying to talk to somebody so that doesn't interfere. You can actually get prescriptive hearing aids.
You can take charge of your issue and don't let it hold power over you. And once you do, the number five stage is refreshing and restarting. Sometimes you get new hearing aid things, but it's still a new process.
It is, and it's kind of almost like starting over again. As they have done something about their problem and get hearing aids, there is a lifespan for those. So maybe five, six, seven years down the road, they really should evaluate those hearing aids and have their audiology professional evaluate those and make sure that they're performing as well as they can. And if they need to, they might need to update them.
Yeah, once you take action, it's much easier to keep that action going forward. So talk to the great folks at ASI, Audiological Services of Iowa. Doug, what's your number here? Yeah, it's 792-5933. Test your ears at 50 years, a great slogan, and it's a great idea here during Better Hearing Month.
