This month of awareness is a good time to analyze your own hearing and determine if you are one of the estimated 28 million Americans who have a hearing loss that can be treated.

You may have a hearing loss if you often turn your ear toward a sound to hear it better, understand people better when you wear your glasses or look directly at their faces, or keep the volume on your radio or TV at a level that others say is too loud.

“People who see themselves in these statements should see an audiologist for a hearing test,” said audiologist Donna Gilmartin, Audiologist, M.S., CCC-A of Santa Barbara Hearing Care.

Santa Barbara Hearing Care offers FREE hearing screenings on an ongoing basis. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are also available for screenings at no cost. You can call 805 616-6431 to set up an appointment or for more information. SB Hearing Care is located in the beautiful SB Yoga Center at 32 E. Micheltorena St., Ste. 3, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

“Even a very slight hearing loss can have an impact on your daily life,” said Gilmartin “Hearing loss is treatable, and there is no reason for anyone to miss all the important sounds of life.”

Annual hearing checkups is a good idea for people age 45 and up, according to audiologists, the professionals who specialize in preventing, identifying, assessing, and treating hearing disorders.

Audiologists can prescribe hearing aids and assistive listening devices, and they can teach people with hearing loss how to concentrate on hearing all sounds.

Audiologists are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and in California are licensed by the state.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific and

credentialing association for more than 145,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists and speech,

language, and hearing scientists.

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