Americans are often a little bit hesitant about keeping regularly scheduled doctor’s appointments, but studies have shown time and time again in all different countries that prevention really is the best cure. After all, without visiting a doctor, there’s no way of determining what’s wrong with you, and the longer you wait, the more difficult it can be to fix something. This is why most people over the age of 40, who have experienced a sense of their own mortality, will be more willing to see dentists and doctors on a regular basis.

However, one thing gets ignored time and time again: hearing loss. After all, people don’t seem as likely to schedule appointments to see if their hearing is what it once was, while hearing loss is something that plagues the population at younger and younger ages. Whether it’s cities getting louder in general or more and more people spending their commute with headphones glued to their ears and the volume cranked, it’s been a tough time for ears the past couple of decades.

So many people don’t even realize they’ve experienced hearing loss until it’s too late and they’re straining to hear every single conversation. The first step towards getting things back on the right track is to go ahead and schedule an appointment to have one’s hearing checked. Unlike so many other physical procedures, a hearing exam is relatively noninvasive, painless, and quick. Most of the test involves listening to various tones and noises and indicating whether or not you hear them. The data collected by the person administering the test is used to draw a chart of sorts, which then shows where you are experiencing your hearing loss.

From there, it’s easy to figure out the cause of the trouble. Sometimes, it can be something as simple as wax building up that is limiting one’s ability to hear, while other times, it is indicative of too much noise over the years. Either way, the best thing to do is to find out early, because the sooner any sort of hearing problem is diagnosed, the easier it is to provide suitable treatment. If it seems unclear where the trouble is coming from, further tests, including physical examinations, may be administered. Thankfully, these are also painless and relatively noninvasive procedures, most of which can be completed in less than an hour with no interruption to schedule or regular functioning.

So if you’re finding that it’s been a little difficult to separate the din of a crowded restaurant from the conversation at your table, or if you’re turning the television up louder and louder and cannot quite figure out why, instead of carrying on how you always have, go ahead and schedule a hearing exam. After all, it is just as important to your health to know your hearing well as it is to take care of any other part of your body, if not more so.