Does the sentence“I don’t need hearing aids yet, I can manage” sound familiar?

Putting off hearing aids is more dangerous than people realise. People who wait the average 7 years before seeking help get much less benefit from hearing aids than people who get them at the first sign of a problem.

When it comes to hearing aids, the dialogue needs to change. That starts with addressing how we feel about hearing loss.

So, why exactly do we baulk when presented with the idea we might have hearing loss or need hearing aids? Aside from the obvious cost factor, people are often worried about how they’ll look, or they’re not yet willing to admit they have a problem. Sometimes they genuinely don’t think they have a problem at all, which is why it’s important to take it into consideration when friends or family tell us they think we have a problem (regardless of whether we like the way the observation is delivered!).

The fact is, all of us by a certain age would hear much better with hearing aids. Unless you’ve been living in a soundproof booth. Any loud sound or virus related damage to our ears accumulates over the years, and couples with the natural ageing process.

Hearing loss might first manifest as a trouble to understand speech. Just as someone with vision problems can view a picture as blurry but still vibrant in colour, you may find sound is at the right volume but speech is garbled.

At this point, it’s common to externalise things and blame those around you for mumbling. Taking an online speech perception test will give you a good indication of whether or not you have a hearing issue.

If you do need hearing aids, try to look at it like this; we would all benefit from the helping of hearing aids in tricky situations, like in a crowded restaurant or bar. I personally would never go to a theatre production without them. Good quality hearing aids help you hear what you want and need to hear.

The earlier you get onto it, the better.