What are the first symptoms of hearing loss?

Healthy hearing plays a vital role in everyone’s life. Hearing problems cause not only physical but also psychological distress. A person loses the ability to communicate normally with other people, and starts isolating  even from relatives and friends. In addition, spatial orientation problems associated with hearing loss can cause serious injury, especially in the elderly.

Today, millions of Americans suffer from various types of hearing loss. The number of such people is growing every year. Patients often make the mistake of seeking help late. This mistake complicates the process of treatment and restoration. Therefore, it’s very important to be able to identify the first symptoms of hearing loss in yourself or a relative and consult a doctor in time.

The main signs of hearing loss

 

Hearing problems can occur at any age and for a variety of reasons. Each person can tell an individual story of the problem. However, audiologists distinguish between three types of hearing loss: conductive, sensorineural, and mixed (which is a combination of the first two). Each type has its unique symptoms. The main and most common causes of the problem are age-related changes and prolonged exposure to loud noise.

In most cases, common hearing problems develop gradually, so many Americans do not notice the signs of the problem until the complications begin to seriously affect their quality of life.

Hearing loss symptoms are easy to overlook, especially if they are hidden behind general wording. Dr. Stella Fulman, our lead specialist, has compiled a list of the top signs of the problem. If they appear, don’t wait, seek help immediately!

The high volume of electronic devices

The high volume of TV, radio, or other electronic devices is the first sign to pay attention to. If you or your loved one notices that the TV always works at high volume, then try to take the online hearing test. It will show the presence / absence of a problem without leaving your home.

Feeling physically and mentally exhausted

If a person stops hearing, then the brain spends additional resources and efforts to parse external sounds and speech. This leads to severe mental and physical fatigue at the end of each day. And it doesn’t matter if it will be a working day or a day of rest.

Even mild hearing loss leads to changes in brain function. The brain is always adapting to new life realities. The longer you live with mild impairment, the longer the brain will work under conditions of reduced auditory information, gradually forgetting how to hear correctly.

Frequent requests to repeat

The situation when a loved one has not heard you at a distance of several meters doesn’t mean anything yet. But if requests to repeat appear more and more often, then it’s time to conduct diagnostics. Moreover, the more often a person asks you to repeat, the stronger the sign of an incipient problem is manifested.

Avoiding noisy places

People with hearing loss dislike going to noisy places like cinemas, theaters, or restaurants because of the encountered difficulties. Background noise drowns out the speech of the speaker. Imagine dining in a crowded restaurant. In the background dishes are ringing, chairs are creaking, people are talking and laughing, and waiters are scurrying around. You try to keep track of what is happening at your table – and the more you try, the more tired you feel. Eventually, you start pretending to hear. You nod, show interest, and laugh with everyone, even if you don’t understand the joke. Some Americans, finding themselves in such situations, make the wrong conclusions. Instead of going to a hearing care professional, they start isolating themselves.

You can’t hear well on the phone

If you have trouble hearing on your iPhone, you’ll easily notice this. Just check your gadget’s volume setting. At its maximum level, pay attention to the ability to hear the speaker. You should sign up for a consultation with an audiologist with frequent misunderstandings of words and even more phrases.

Frequent misunderstanding of words

Americans who have hearing loss often confuse similar words. Sometimes it’s enough to lose only 1 letter in order not to understand the meaning of a whole phrase! For example, you said “sword” and your loved one heard “word”. Such type of trouble hearing on the telephone occurs most often.

You have a hard time hearing women and children

High-frequency hearing loss is a problem, which occurs in a specific range of high frequencies. Women and children speak in higher tones and frequencies than men. Therefore, if you have become worse at understanding the speech of children or women, and there are no problems with male voices, then it’s time to seek help from a specialist!

Sudden hearing loss

Hearing loss is a “slow” problem, which develops gradually over a long time. In most cases, it goes like this. However, there is another form of it – Sudden hearing loss. It usually develops in one ear and indicates the need for contact with a doctor. Symptoms of the problem are a feeling of ear congestion, which can be accompanied by tinnitus and dizziness.

Many people mistakenly attribute this to earwax, sinusitis, or seasonal allergies and don’t go to a doctor, believing that it will go away itself. This is a big mistake. In the case of sudden hearing loss, timely help is more important than ever.

Emotional overload or stress from noises, voices, or loud sounds

Stress and emotional overload are clear signs of hearing problems. A person ceases to normally understand others. He becomes more and more annoyed and upset about his difficulties. The patient’s reluctance to seek help only exacerbates the situation. Many people think that the problem will go away. But it’s not so. If you notice straining to hear conversations and growing depressive moods in the speaking, then we recommend taking the online hearing screening. Such testing will not take a long time and will help identify the problem at an early stage.

What to do if you start to lose your hearing?

 

Have you discovered in yourself or a loved one several signs of hearing loss? First of all, calm down and don’t be nervous. Take a free online test, which will show the presence/absence of a problem. If the hearing loss is confirmed, then you cannot do without the help of specialists.

Audiology Island’s audiologists have great experience in hearing restoration. We’ve already helped thousands of Americans, and we’ll help you too!

Today, there are effective and safe treatments, which really work. If the diagnosis of hearing loss is confirmed, we’ll prescribe hearing aids for you. These small devices work wonders. Compact and unremarkable, they restore the lost ability and return a person to society.

Healthy hearing is a person’s key to a happy life. Try to take good care of yourself and do annual preventive testing. If, nevertheless, you start having problems, then don’t delay, but contact only experienced audiologists with a good reputation!