The first question is: Are you struggling to understand?
That is where you begin. If you are, regardless of what value you place on the issue, it is an issue.
It has been my observation, and this is all empirical, no scientific study to quote or give you stats from, that most people want to wait til “it’s really a problem.” The problem is, if you wait til it’s really a problem, it’s really a problem.
I have probably heard from hundreds of people over the years:" I was doing fine, and it’s like in the last month, I can’t understand anything."
I believe the reason this happens is when that switch flips, and the auditory nerve begins to check out is when the “All the sudden I can’t understand” thing happens.
Hearing, under normal conditions is only going to shift downwards at 1 to 3% per year. Speech discrimination is something else altogether. When it starts down, it expands exponentially, like a snowball rolling down a hill.
One study, I believe it came from Johns Hopkins, stated that people with untreated hearing loss lose on average 12% of their speech discrimination per year.
I tested a gentleman recently who was last tested in 2016. At that time, he was told he needed hearing aids, and declined to take action. Now, a little over two years later, all the sudden he can’t understand anything. When he was tested in 2016, his discrim scores were 76% R, 72% L. When I tested him, his discrim scores were 44% R, 36%L. That’s almost 40% of his ability to understand speech gone in just over two years.
I guess my point is this: We sell a product that no one really wants, and most have convinced themselves they will never need. Don’t allow pride or ego to keep you from caring for your self and your hearing the way that you should be cared for. If you let your hearing go for another 3 to 5 years, the chances of success with hearing aids is reduced, and whatever benefit you get will most likely be less than what it would be if you take action before it “Became a real problem.”
Good luck.