The Tools That Can Help You Live Better With Hearing Loss

The Tools That Can Help You Live Better With Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a very common ailment, especially as we age. When it’s undiagnosed, it can be surprisingly detrimental to our ability to form relationships, our mental health, and our quality of life. However, once you get it diagnosed, you can begin to look for solutions that can help you address many of the difficulties you might have in daily life. Here are a few that are worth considering.

Read: HOW NOISE POLLUTION AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH

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Subtitles

It might sound like a relatively easy and obvious answer, but if you haven’t started turning the subtitles on your TV or streaming services on yet, then now might be the time to do so. Straining your ears to be able to hear what people are saying in the TV shows or movies you’re watching can be more stressful and more exhausting than you might realize and most channels and streaming services have subtitles built in.

Hearing aids

One of the most important and widely used tools for treating hearing loss is the hearing aid. Sometimes, such as in cases that might demand cochlear implants, they are not the right answer but, for the majority of people, hearing aids can be a huge help. With your audiologist, you can choose the device that helps meet all of your needs, depending on the kind of environments you spend your time in, and what kind of technology you would like to use it with, such as your smartphone.

Hearing aid accessories

There are also accessories that can be used alongside the hearing aids that can help you get even more use out of them. For instance, there are changeable microphones that can, for instance, allow you to better pick up speech, TV transmitters to help you receive signals from the TV so that you hear its audio input directly from the device and more. You should ensure you have the right accessories to care for, clean, and store your hearing aids, too.

The right apps

As mentioned, you can choose hearing aids that are designed to work with digital technology devices, such as smartphones and tablets. These devices work through apps that are able to connect with them. These apps can do a lot, from helping you adjust the listening and amplification profiles in the devices, to transcription apps that turn speech to text quickly, to help you better communicate.

Assistive technologies

Your hearing aids should not be the end-all and be-all when it comes to adapting to hearing loss. There are times when you might not be wearing it, such as when you’re in the shower or sleeping, and during those times, assistive technology, such as visual indicators for alarm clocks, fire alarms, doorbells, and the like can be a huge help. There are a lot of devices in modern life that use sound to alert the user and plenty of alternatives that adapt these for people with hearing loss.

Read: IS THERE A WAY OF CURING HEARING LOSS?

If you’re concerned about the possibility of hearing loss, the first thing to do about it is to get a definitive answer. Make an appointment with your audiologist and set up a hearing test today.

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