I have been told by more than one Doctor. The longer you wait the faster the decline occurs and that can effect awareness of your surrounding, balance etc. I have no reason to question this as I listened and started with hearing aids about 25 years ago. With each new pair they had to be adjusted but it was minor. As my hearing loss is from very loud noise it is progressive and I have arrived at the place where I have to start gathering information about Cochlear Implants
so time marches on. I am 88 now and with the correct hearing assistance I should be able to hear to the time I go toes up. As to hearing in restaurants or noise environments it is still some white troublesome but if you are with a friend there is a clip on or one the table microphone you can place with them and that really makes a difference. Somanode10

I encourage you to get the hearing aids now. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to adjust to them. Who tested your hearing most recently? Was it an audiologist? Regardless, you would be wise to ask them for a copy of your audiogram for comparison.

It sounds as if your hearing loss is mild or moderate because you've been getting along without having them. You may want to try Costco if there is one in your area. They sell basic hearing aids. Their products are not the over the counter variety. They will test you so you can compare the earlier audiogram with the Costco one.

The advantage of Costco is the lengthy trial period they allow. Most providers allow no more than 45 days; many only 30. Costco allows 6 months. That gives you time to try the hearing aids in just about every possible situation where you will want to have them. If they don't help enough you can return them and get your money back.

I do not endorse products or providers, but I feel it's important for people to be aware of different policies.

The hearing industry is interesting. There are people with doctorate level degrees (AuD) that dispense hearing aids. There are people with high school diplomas who become Hearing Instrument Specialists (HIS) through training. Some have master's degrees. The important thing is to find a product the works and a provider who is helpful.

Good luck to you.

This may sound silly, but try cupping your hand around the back of the ear most easily directed toward the speaker. That also alerts the speaker to maybe giving you preferential broadcasts in your direction! Of course using one hand on each ear doubles the hearing horn affect. Hearing horns do work, but people would rather pay thousands of dollars for hearing aids that they may never find practical to wear and maintain. They are always needing cleaning to remove ear wax build ups in the domes and tubes in my experience. In your case I'd also explore the new Over The Counter (OTC) rechargeable Behind The Ear (BTE) type hearing aids from reputable manufacturers that cost less than $1,000 per pair. They will help in noisy environments, but the noise will still be a problem. Hearing aids are like eye glasses in that if you can get along most of the time without them, you may not bother with them except for special events etc. Some hearing aids have a special Telecoil "T-Coil" mode that work great if the building (church for example) has a magnetic loop that broadcasts directly to T-Coil equipped hearing aids.