Taking Care of Your Hearing

As you get older, your hearing often gets worse. People who've worked around loud noises for a long time - like construction workers, factory workers, and car mechanics - may experience more severe hearing loss. Sometimes hearing loss can be caused by diseases or medicines.

Here's how you can tell if you have hearing loss:

• Do you ask people to repeat what they say often?
• Do you have problems following a conversation when more than two people are talking?
• Do you turn the volume up on the television and radio so loud that others ask you to turn it down?
• Do you have a hard time understanding people over the telephone?

If you think or know you have hearing loss:

• See a doctor.
• Get a hearing test.
• Find out if you need to see a specialist or get a hearing aid.