You may think it’d be obvious, but hearing loss can be gradual, so how can one know they have it? There’s no darting pain to serve as a danger sign. You do not collapse or make unnecessary trips to the bathroom when it occurs, either. It is safe to say the symptoms of hearing loss are more subtle than other age-related illnesses like diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Nevertheless, there are indications should you know what to look for. It’s a matter of paying attention to the way you hear and the impact any change might be having in your life. Consider the ways you’re able to identify hearing loss for you or somebody you care about.
Conversations Become a Challenge
The effect on socializing provides a number of the most telling signs. For instance, if the first word from your mouth during most discussions is “what?” That should be a sign you are not comprehending words easily. Asking the people you speak to tell you again what they said is something they are very likely to notice before you do, too, so pay attention to how folks respond to having a chat with you.
When talking in a group of a couple of people, you might have difficulty keeping track of things. You’re missing bits of what everyone says, thus you aren’t connecting the dots anymore. You can’t ask everyone talking to repeat themselves, either, so you just get lost. Over time, you limit group discussions or stand there not understanding what is stated, since it’s just too confusing once you do.
The Background Noise Takes Over
If all you hear these days is background noise, then it’s time to get a hearing test. This is a frequent sign of hearing loss because you are not able to filter out sounds like a fan blowing off or an air conditioner operating. It gets to the point where you can not hear what people are saying to you because it becomes lost in the background sound.
The TV Goes Up and Doesn’t Stop
It’s easy to blame the need to flip the TV volume up on this dying set because of a busy room, but when it happens all the time, it’s probably an indication of a gradual hearing loss. When everybody else starts telling you that you’ve got the TV or computer volume too loud, you should wonder why this really is, and, probably, conclude that your hearing is not like it had been once.
You Find Yourself Seeing Their Lips
Lip reading is a compensation mechanism for missing words. Gradual hearing loss begins with the loss of hard sounds. Words that contain specific letters will probably be incomplete. Your mind might automatically refocus your eyes on the person’s lips to repair the problem. Chances are you won’t even understand you do it before someone tells you or unexpectedly seems uncomfortable when speaking with you.
Then There is the Clicking
It can be a ringing, clicking or buzz or the noise of breeze in your ears — medically this is called tinnitus, and it is a warning of significant hearing loss. These sounds aren’t real, but phantom noises that only you hear. For some people, they are just bothersome, but for many others tinnitus is debilitating. If you’ve got it, then you certainly have hearing loss that you need to handle.
Hearing problems aren’t always obvious to the individual experiencing them, but it is to others. Listen to what your loved ones are telling you about your hearing loss. Consider, too, other medical problems that can contribute to this problem like hypertension or medication you take that could damage your ears and discover if age-related hearing loss is a hereditary problem you should be worried about.
It is really like assembling the pieces of a puzzle. If you do come to that decision, visit your health care provider and receive a professional hearing test for affirmation. Hearing loss isn’t the worst health issue you could have, but for many, it will mean it’s time to think about hearing aids.
