How to determine wear on a stylus?

The stores that had a prominently displayed microsope did not necessarily know what to look for. In this second coming of vinyl I would argue that the only safe way is to keep track of the hours played and change it when a reasonable number is reached. I fondly remember carts with a user replaceable stylus where you could actually do something about a worn stylus short of forking over as much money as you paid for the cart for a retip.

A microscope w/ 200X magnification. Some good audio stores had them prior to the CD onslaught. One would think w/ the mega buck T/Ts, their dealers would invest in one. After several stylus replacements or retippings, it would pay for itself.n

". . . when it sounds dull??" My concern there is that by that time it may have begun to damage the records.

Thanks, Elizabeth. That sounds like it's worth a try.
Ned

ahem, ah when it sounds dull???