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Communication requires listening to what others have to say. When you have hearing problems, your ability to receive information is limited. For babies and small children, consequences can include developmental issues, especially in speech abilities. For adults, issues can arise at work and in their personal life. Recognizing the condition can be challenging, which is why a hearing test is an essential tool in many situations.

Babies and young children encounter obstacles in the development of speech if they are unable to listen to the world around them. Language is first learned via auditory means, as babies pick up the sounds and relate them to their surrounding environment. Small children start to mimic those sounds in certain situations, as they come to understand their meaning and learn how to create words. When this process cannot take place or it is limited by hearing loss, the affected children have difficulties fitting into society and developing the language skills they need to communicate throughout their lives.

Because of the importance of evaluating abilities in this age group, states across the country have regulations so that each baby undergoes a hearing exam just after birth. Children generally have their listening evaluated at various ages, frequently by their school or at their doctor's office. Catching the condition while a child is still young improves the chances that he or she can live a normal life. A hearing aid, for example, may give them the ability to communicate with others and develop strong language skills despite physical limitations. Other times, different treatments must be used when the damage is more severe.

As people get older, they tend to forget about the check-ups they did as a child. Teenagers and young adults often go to loud music concerts or listen to their music players with the volume turned up to high. They may notice short-term hearing loss, but assume that it will go away within a few hours. Generally the consequences of loud sounds seem to disappear, leading many to take their listening skills for granted. However, repeated exposure to loud sounds over time does cause damage that you may start to notice in your forties or fifties.

Difficulties in processing the sounds of your surrounding environment generally develop gradually. As a result, many do not realize what is happening to them for quite some time. You might, for example, constantly find yourself turning up the television volume after other people have been using it. Yet it is easy, at first, to attribute this to a difference in preference. Some people, after all, prefer watching the television at lower volumes. Other times you might find yourself requesting others to repeat their statements, and attribute it to being distracted or the other person's mumbling.

If these kinds of things happen to you, it makes sense to get a hearing exam regardless of your age. A proactive attitude lets you deal with any issues as they come up in your life. When you take action to improve your listening abilities, you can maintain your active lifestyle.