Take Care of Yourself... and your Loved Ones!

Thanks to my involvement with Lobe clinics, I’m constantly learning, and I love it! I really like to learn new things, and I have many different interests. A few years ago, I even went back to university to take some classes as an independent student, just for fun. However, I must admit that I have a special interest in hearing health. As Lobe Ambassador, I intend to improve my knowledge on the subject, with the help of professionals. It is so important, as the hearing health field is constantly growing and changing.

Don’t forget that our hearing changes too. I became particularly aware of this when René and I noticed, a few years ago, some changes to my mother-in-law's hearing. We felt that she wasn’t hearing as well as before. She started to isolate herself and participated less actively in conversations during family gatherings.

Seeing her like this saddened us, so we encouraged her to consult a hearing health professional. At first, she was reluctant and afraid of being judged. However, she had a hearing assessment and received the help she needed. Her hearing aids became essential to her. When she needed an adjustment to her hearing aids, she wanted it to be done quickly. She didn’t want to miss any of the sounds around her.

In order to help someone, you need to recognize the signs of hearing loss. In my first column, I mentioned that when Olivier was born, René and I weren’t familiar with those signs at all. As you can imagine, however, we soon became familiar with the world of hearing health.

I would never call myself an expert, but I still believe that, with all of my experiences, I have acquired some knowledge.

If you want to detect hearing loss, I encourage you to look for changes in your loved ones’ behaviour. That is exactly what we did with my mother-in-law. Without our intervention, she might not have consulted a hearing health professional so quickly. Different signs may indicate hearing loss. For example, you might notice that a loved one often asks people to repeat themselves, watches TV at a higher volume than before or confuses words with similar sounds, like time and dime.

If you notice changes like these, a hearing assessment is recommended. I have learned that hearing assessments are recommended every two years from age 50 onward. For children, we also suggest that they have one before starting school. This way, you can make sure they’ll be able to hear and understand their teachers.

Did you know that May is Speech & Hearing Month? To mark the occasion, many special events will be held in Lobe clinics, and I will be attending some of them.

These events will be an excellent opportunity for me to meet you. Hearing screening with Décibelle^TM mobile app will also be available, so you can check your hearing if you have any doubts. And don’t forget to talk about it with the people around you! Sometimes, it only takes a discussion to convince a loved one to consult a hearing health professional. Trust me!

If I had only one tip to give you, I would tell you to take care of your hearing! All too often, we only realize how important a sense is when we lose it.

Don’t miss my next column! In the meantime, take care of yourself, your loved ones… and your hearing!

All my love,