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COURTESY PHOTO JOHNSON’S HEARING CENTER
The hearing professionals at Johnson’s Hearing Centers include, from left, Cathy McDermott, Holly Johnson, Dr. Kummerer and Valerie Rivera.
A tip sheet listing 10 things people 55 and older should do regularly to improve their health included sleeping more, exercising more and taking on the challenge to learn something new every day.
Nowhere on the list was the suggestion of an annual hearing exam, but you’ll be hard pressed to find an audiologist who doesn’t believe it should.
With one in every three people older than 60 experiencing some degree of hearing loss, 55 is the age when many audiologists, including Lindsey Kummerer, AuD, CCC-A, of Johnson Hearing Centers, recommend people should start to get annual hearing tests.
“I think of it as preventive maintenance, like what you do when you go to your eye doctor to get your eyes checked or your dentist to get your teeth checked,” Dr. Kummerer says. “Your primary goal is to make sure everything is OK.
“And that’s important with hearing because we know through research now that untreated hearing loss can accelerate cognitive decline, increase the risk for dementia and trigger other issues such as depression or falls, which can then lead to serious injuries.
“By getting an annual hearing test, we are better able to prevent the increases in hearing loss that can lead to those problems because it’s important to remember that hearing loss often happens so gradually that many people don’t even realize it’s happening.
-Dr. Kummerer
“A lot of people simply adjust to their hearing loss by asking others to repeat themselves, speak louder or stop mumbling. At home, they just turn the TV up a little louder. But these are all signs that there may be a problem that needs to be addressed.”
What Did You Say?
COURTESY PHOTO JOHNSON’S HEARING CENTER
Dr. Lindsey Kummerer
Another issue that suggests someone might benefit from a hearing test is the inability to clearly comprehend what someone is saying in a noisy environment such as restaurant or bar. Dr. Kummerer says that problem is specific to a certain kind of hearing loss.
“That’s actually something we hear a lot from our patients,” the doctor notes. “They tell us, I can hear, but I can’t understand everything the other person is saying. And that is typical of high-frequency hearing loss or age-related hearing loss.
“And again, that is something that people may not notice because at home, if everything is quiet, they can hear just fine. But then they go out to dinner or somewhere where there’s background noise and, suddenly, they can’t quite make out what someone else is saying.”
It’s not just people who don’t realize they have a hearing problem who fail to get annual hearing tests. Dr. Kummerer says many people who have been tested and fit with hearing aids skip their recommended annual examinations.
“They’re sort of like, OK, I’ve got my hearing aids, and I can hear now, so I’m good,” she relates. “But even in people who have hearing aids, there can still be a change in their hearing that needs to be addressed.
“The other thing to keep in mind is that hearing aid technology is always changing. As a result, better and better hearing devices are coming out all the time. By getting an annual hearing test, you may learn that there’s a new device that’s recently come out that can help you hear better.”
Years of Experience
Dr. Kummerer also stresses the importance of visiting a board-certified audiologist. The testing performed by an audiologist, she emphasizes, is far more advanced than that given by someone at a big-box provider.
In addition, an audiologist is typically surrounded by board-certified hearing aid and instrument specialists who can use the results of the test to provide devices that work best for each patient.
Johnson Hearing Centers has several specialists with more than 40 years of combined experience in the hearing health field. They include the practice’s owner, board-certified Holly A. Johnson, BC-HIS.
“Here at Johnson Hearing Centers, we see and treat patients who are 5 years and older,” Dr. Kummerer says. “We also have mobile equipment that gives us the ability to visit and treat someone in their home if they can’t come to us.
“That ability to get out and help others away from our office is something that not many hearing practices have, and it’s just another reason why there are really no good excuses for someone to avoid getting an annual hearing test.
“We’ll come to you if that’s what works best, and keep in mind that hearing tests are quick and easy. An annual hearing test can be done in less than an hour, and once we’ve done that, we can start taking care of whatever hearing issue you may have.”
Holly, who owned and operated several hearing clinics in Ohio before opening her practice in Inverness, points out that Johnson Hearing Centers accepts health insurance from all carriers and notes that several cover the cost of hearing aids.
Others, including Cigna, Freedom Health, Aetna, AARP, UniCare and AmeriHealth, typically offer hearing aid benefits and discounts. Holly urges people on those plans to take advantage of their benefits before the calendar year ends.
I find it surprising that you can use hearing tests to identify the cause of hearing loss and use several treatments to reduce its effects. I can see how this can help individuals in preventing total deafness if left untreated! I should share this with my friend who loves playing loud music on his earphones someday.