If you have hearing loss, you might imagine it would be obvious, right?
Actually, that’s precisely the issue; most people think it would. Unfortunately, although severe or abrupt hearing loss is easy to identify, mild to moderate developing hearing loss can be far too subtle to observe. That’s why, on average, people will wait five years or longer from the onset of symptoms to seek out help.
Picture hearing loss as a gradual leak in a tire. It’s difficult to recognize the daily changes, and it’s only when the tire becomes flat, and your car is no longer drivable, that you decide to take action.
Regrettably, whereas tires are replaceable, your hearing is not. It can be to a degree recovered, but the earlier you treat your hearing loss the more of your hearing you’ll recoup.
So how can you determine the signs and symptoms of early-stage hearing loss? Below are several of the hidden signs that indicate you should consider a hearing examination.
1. Difficulties hearing certain sounds
Frequently people assume that hearing loss impacts all types of sounds. So, if you can hear some sounds normally, you presume you can hear all sounds normally.
Do not get caught up into this mode of reasoning. The reality is that hearing loss predominantly impacts higher-frequency sounds. You may notice that you have particular difficulty hearing the voices of women and children, as an example, owing to the higher pitch.
This may possibly lead you to believe that the individuals you can’t hear are mumbling, when in fact, you have high-frequency hearing loss.
2. Relying on context to understand
Someone is speaking from behind you and you can’t comprehend what they’re saying unless you turn around and face them. You are forced to depend on body language, and possibly lip reading, for extra information used to fill in the blanks.
Speech is composed of a range of frequencies, from low to high, with consonants representing the high frequencies and vowels representing the low frequencies. The issue for people with high-frequency hearing loss is that consonants impart the most meaning yet are the most difficult to hear.
If you have hearing loss, speech comprehension is similar to reading a sentence with missing letters. More often than not, you’ll get it right, but when you don’t, you may discover yourself responding inappropriately or requesting people to repeat themselves often. You may also experience difficulty hearing on the phone.
3. Difficulty hearing in loud settings
With mild hearing loss, you can usually understand what others are saying, albeit with a lot of effort. As soon as background noise is presented, however, the task usually becomes overwhelming.
You may discover that it’s difficult to hear in group settings or in loud environments like at restaurants or parties. The contending sounds and background noise are muffling your already affected hearing, making it highly difficult to focus on any single source of sound.
4. Listening Fatigue
Last, you may observe that you’re more fatigued than normal after work or after engagement in group settings. For individuals with hearing loss, the chronic fight to hear, combined with the effort to understand incomplete sounds, can create serious exhaustion, which is a non-obvious symptom of hearing loss.
Hearing loss is gradual and becomes more complicated to treat the longer you wait. If you have any of these signs and symptoms, even if they’re only minor, we strongly encourage arranging a hearing test. By acting sooner, you can conserve your hearing and stay connected to your loved ones.