Nothing replaces a thorough hearing examination with an audiologist, a physician specially trained to evaluate, detect, and then treat various forms of hearing loss or hearing impairments. However, there are many tools on the market that help raise flags that hearing may be impacted and to serve as initial screens for hearing wellness.
Surprisingly, there are even iPhone apps for this very purpose. While screenings on phones or computers may be as much for entertainment as anything else, if taken properly according to instructions given, they actually can provide some initial insight to a person about whether their hearing may warrant getting checked out by a true professional. The uHear free application assesses hearing in the areas of hearing sensitivity to determine the quietest sounds you can hear, speech in noise in terms of measuring your ability to understand speech in the presence of noise, and a questionnaire regarding your performance in common listening situations.
For example, if you and several friends or family members take a series of hearing tests on the uHear application (or a similar screening tool) on their iPhones and you score much lower, it might be time for a hearing screening to determine your overall hearing wellness. Since it is a myth that hearing loss affects only older Americans, what do you have to lose?
Also, if you have regular physical checkups with your family doctor, ask for your hearing to be checked as part of the overall wellness exam. Unless you ask about it specifically, your doctor may not check your hearing — especially if you have not reported any problems or concerns.
Protect your hearing through safe practices from loud noises such as wearing ear plugs and having regular hearing examinations. You may also want to consider whether the all-natural hearing wellness supplement ProHieran is right for you!
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