If you’re like most people, you haven’t had your hearing checked recently — but you should.
Did you know babies and adults in the United States can experience hearing loss for a wide variety of reasons?
Without having your hearing regularly checked, you could miss the chance to catch a problem and be able to do something about it.
Consider these statistics:
- Two to three of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in at least one ear.
- Over 90% of deaf children have hearing parents.
- About 15% of American adults report some hearing issues.
- About 2% of adults between 45 and 54 have disabling hearing loss.
- Of adults between 55 and 64, 8.5% have disabling hearing loss.
- About 28.8 million American adults could use a hearing aid.
As this data illustrates, hearing loss is a larger problem than many people realize.
Skipping yearly hearing testing could mean overlooking a problem, leading to a delay in treatment and a condition that grows even worse.
The earlier you catch hearing problems and their related diseases, the better the prognosis.
Who Should Be Getting Tested?
To prevent untreated hearing impairments, you want to get your hearing tested at several key points in your life:
- Babies born in hospitals will have their hearing tested at birth, which can catch any issues before they lead to communication delays and/or speech impairments.
- School-aged children are required in many states to be screened periodically. If this doesn’t happen at your child’s school, talk to your pediatrician about doing a screening, especially if you’re noticing any learning struggles or behavioral issues that could relate to a hearing issue.
- Teenagers and young adults will sometimes experience hearing loss through high-noise situations such as concerts, using lawnmowers or leaf blowers, being in the military, etc. Generally speaking, it’s good to get a screening at 15 or 16 and every few years afterward.
- Adults will often experience undetected hearing loss. Hearing loss doesn’t only affect the elderly, so it’s worthwhile to get regular audiometry testing.
Ready to learn more about why it’s important to get your hearing tested? Take a look at the accompanying resource, which offers six reasons regular hearing checkups matter.
Provided by Grason-Stadler
Sources
- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iOV_MqtZ7y5yb_QVxes1217L-MeWQL7H/view
- www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statistics-hearing
- https://medicalhearingsystems.com/hearing-test/why-its-important-to-have-your-hearing-tested-regularly/
- http://premierhearing.com/hearing-test/why-its-important-for-all-adults-to-schedule-regular-hearing-tests/
- https://hoffmannaudiology.com/blog/why-regular-hearing-screening-is-important
- http://hearagain.com/hearing-screening/why-it-is-important-to-have-your-hearing-tested/
- https://audiologyhearing.net/blog/5-reasons-to-have-a-hearing-test
- https://caryaudiology.com/5-reasons-to-get-a-hearing-test/
- https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/most-older-adults-havent-gotten-checked-hearing-loss-women-less-likely-men-be-screened-or
Sandra is a health blogger based in San Diego, California. She is passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. She loves being outdoors and exploring new places with her husband. She is a mom of two awesome kids and a dog named Luna!