Although millions of boomers have experienced natural hearing loss as we’ve aged, too many of us haven’t even had our hearing checked!
Seventy-one percent actually admit to not hearing as well as we used to, according to a FabOverFifty poll of over 150 women, but 59 percent haven’t bothered to test their hearing. We ask people numerous times throughout the week to repeat what they said, miss dialog at the movies and on TV, or pretend we’re following the conversation in a noisy restaurant.
Over 50 percent of us say we don’t know where to check our hearing, or we don’t have the time. For smart, active women, these excuses don’t make us seem very smart!
Hopefully, all of you who are ignoring signs of hearing loss will now think twice, and at least get your hearing checked. You can visit an audiologist, or do it in the comfort of your home with a nifty little at-home test from iHear that you can order online for only $69. Up to five people can be tested with the single kit. It’s the first and only FDA-approved home hearing screener on the market, as a matter of fact, because the earphones are calibrated for precise testing.
Once you receive your kit in the mail, all you’ll need is your computer with an Internet connection. It’s easy to download the software and do the test online.
It takes about 3 minutes.
The iHear at-home test will report, on a scale from 1-5, if your hearing remains as sharp as your pet pooch’s, or whether you could use a hearing aid to amplify all the sounds you’re pretty sure you’ve been missing. When I took the test, it revealed the same results as when I had my hearing tested by an audiologist.
Hearing screening should be done at least once every decade through age 50, and at three-year intervals thereafter, recommends the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.
