The Meaning of a Sound

The sound of ocean waves may bring you back to a special vacation memory. The sound of a can of soda opening in a nearby room may make you feel thirsty. The sounds of grandchildren playing, a favorite song on the radio or a friend’s laughter can all bring real joy to your life. A single sound has the power to transport us back to a fond memory and provide us a moment of comfort, happiness and even hunger and longing. The meaning of any particular sound depends on our unique life experiences. And while we all experience individual sounds differently, what we do have in common is the need for good hearing health to capture those sounds.

Imagine life without your favorite sounds. When hearing loss goes untreated, we slowly overtime lose one sound after the other, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Today’s hearing aid technology is more advanced than ever before which means better sound quality for device users. If you suspect hearing loss, here are two important reminders:

• Don’t wait. If you suspect a change in hearing don’t wait to make an appointment with a hearing care professional. A change in hearing could be temporary due to ear wax or an allergy and if that is the case a medical professional can help immediately to remedy. In the event that it is more permanent hearing loss, the sooner you treat it the easier it will be to capture many of the sounds you are missing.
• Ask questions. First, talk to your loved ones and friends, do they have examples where they have felt you were not hearing as well as you have in the past? Are they seeing you struggle in certain situations? Next what questions do you have? Write these questions down and bring to your appointment with a hearing care provider to discuss.

Take a few minutes today and jot down the sounds that are important to your life story. What sounds would you miss?