I normally go every 6 months, but my appointment got pushed back, so it's been 7 months now. I just didn't think it affected sound that much aside from volume alone. Just thought it was a volume dampener and a source of ear pain, not an alteration of sound quality.

I do have some devices left with a headphone jack...very few, but I'll get some music playing on those and see if I can't swap it back and forth fast enough to determine if it's really an issue. Annoying, on my phone, plugging in headphones to the dongle triggers Google Assistant, which pauses the music.