If you’re like most people, most of your New Year’s resolutions — made with all the good intentions in the world in January — are forgotten by February. However there’s one resolution that you should strive to keep: that of getting your hearing checked.

As you age, hearing clarity may become a problem. You may find that you pick up less of what is being said. This may be especially so in crowded places, such as cafes or restaurants, where the background noise may interfere with your ability to catch all the conversation. It is frustrating, sometimes even embarrassing, to find that you continually have to ask people to repeat themselves.

The natural ageing process is one of the key factors of hearing problems, with half the population aged between 60 and 70 reported to have some sort of hearing loss, according to the South Australian Department of Human Services. Warning signs include problems hearing in noisy situations; inability to detect all of a person’s conversation (particularly children and those with light voices) and having trouble hearing the television or phone.

If you believe you may be suffering from age-related hearing loss, making a point of having your hearing checked may be one of the best things you do for yourself in 2016.

Here’s five key reasons why:

End the isolation

A quick hearing check-up and a fitting for better hearing aids will do wonders to end the feeling of isolation you may feel when amongst family and friends whom you are unable to easily communicate with like you used to. You’ll have the confidence to converse with all your friends and family, not just those with clear voices!

Hearing aids have come a long way

You may have had your hearing tested before and even tried out a hearing aid – perhaps a government subsidised model – only to find them uncomfortable, impractical and ineffective? Huge advancements have been made in hearing aid technology in recent years, in both functionality and comfort, and finding the right one for your specific needs is a skill that an audiologist, like us here at Hearing Loss Specialists, will be able provide. At your hearing test and consultation we can talk through your options and get you fitted with a better working and more comfortable hearing aid.

Confidence

You may have reached the age where you’d like to take up new hobbies or activities. Perhaps you’re considering taking up community work to put a little back into the local town or suburb in which you live? Or you’d like to make new friends? Give yourself the confidence you need by getting yourself fitted with the right hearing aids.

Find the right hearing aid to suit your lifestyle

If you do believe you suffer from age-related hearing loss, just one of the advantages of getting a hearing test would be to determine the right type of hearing aids for your lifestyle. There are a range of hearing aids now available, whether placed in the ear or outside. Each has their own benefits. Some will deliver more power, while others are almost impossible to see in the ear.

Improve your social life

Whether a cafe, a restaurant, a newsagent or meeting place, you may find yourself avoiding loud places where there is likely to be background noise. You may decide not to attend gatherings or events due to the difficulty you may have in picking up all of the conversation. By organising a hearing check and getting yourself fitted with quality hearing aids, you regain the confidence to enjoy social events. You’ll also be able to better enjoy staying in touch with family over the phone.

A simple lifestyle change such as getting yourself checked for hearing loss, can have a profound effect on your lifestyle and social life. A hearing test conducted by a qualified audiologist will test your ears’ ability to detect the loudness and pitch of sounds. The variety of tests will help the audiologist determine the type and extent of your hearing loss and will be able to recommend the right hearing aids for your lifestyle and condition.

Make having a hearing test one of your top resolutions of 2016. The results could improve your life! Get in touch with our friendly team to book a hearing test with us at one of our