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If you're straining to hear people's words, often asking them to repeat themselves, or you get complaints from your family that the TV is too loud, it may be time to get your hearing checked.

The American Speech/Language/Hearing Association estimates that 28 million people in the United States have hearing loss.

Easter Seals often provides free hearing screenings, as well as hearing evaluations, hearing aid dispensing, hearing aid repairs, making custom ear molds such as noise plugs for hunters and making earplugs for musicians, said audiologist Kim Collins Marusiak.

The difference between hearing screenings and hearing evaluations is that screenings only tell if there is a hearing loss, Marusiak said.

"Hearing evaluations tell the degree of hearing loss, the type of hearing loss, provide speech discrimination (the degree you can decipher words) and the status on middle ear function," Marusiak said.

"People still view hearing loss and hearing aids as a sign that they are getting older and things are not working as well," said Diane Hammel, an audiologist at The Hearing Health Center in Naperville, Ill. "Probably the biggest factor in success is mental. People who come in and want to improve their hearing will be successful.

"Having a hearing test is painless, and getting information is painless. It can change your life," she said. "It is very frustrating for family members of the hearing-impaired to have to always repeat their words or to be continuously misunderstood."

Hearing aids are smaller than ever, and the technology involved has changed so rapidly that no one should base fears about hearing aids on memories of a loved one who struggled with the devices 10 or more years ago.

"More and more, I see people who look at hearing aids as they would a pair of glasses," Marusiak said.

Anyone considering getting a hearing aid should see an audiologist or a doctor. Hearing aid dispensers are not necessarily audiologists — who have at least a master's degree in audiology.

Prices start at around $500 and go up to $3,500 for each, and most people need two.

Medicare does not cover hearing aids, although more and more insurance policies are beginning to cover at least part of the cost, Marusiak said.

Hammel said there are at least 80 different hearing aid manufacturers. The newest hearing aids are digital, programmed through a computer with digital processing.

For more information, go online at www.HearingExchange.com.