If you constantly have to ask people to repeat themselves or if you’re straining to hear conversations, it might be time to get your hearing checked. Hearing loss is a common problem, especially with age, but it is important to detect it early and treat it. Here are some signs that you may have hearing problems:
Why do hearing problems start with advancing age?
With age, hearing problems become more and more common. This can be attributed to a number of factors such as excessive exposure to loud noises, hereditary disposition, and other environmental factors. Age-related hearing loss, known as presbycusis, results from the natural wear and tear of inner ear structures over time.
Age-related hearing loss can cause different levels of damage that manifests differently in each person. Some people cannot hear high frequencies or certain sounds, while others may have difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments. Another type of age-related hearing loss is auditory neuropathy, caused by damage to the auditory nerve(s). Hearing aids and other assistive devices are available for people who struggle with age-related hearing loss. It’s important to get annual health checkups so that any hearing problems can be addressed at an early stage before it gets worse.
5 signs that show hearing loss.
You have to watch people when they speak to understand them better.
Looking directly at a person when they are speaking is not only polite, it is also a vital way for people with hearing difficulties to ensure that they understand the other person. People who constantly need to focus their eyes on the mouths of those speaking may experience changes in their hearing and should see a professional to see if the problem needs to be treated. The earlier hearing problems are detected, the more likely it is that treatments will be used to improve the ability to hear and communicate. No one should have to feel left out of conversations with family and friends because of a hearing loss.
You experience ringing or buzzing in your ears.
If you occasionally experience ringing or ringing in your ears that doesn’t seem to go away, you may have difficulty hearing. Although this sensation may seem benign, this symptom may be a sign of a more serious hearing problem. This usually happens when the inner ear is damaged, resulting in a condition known as tinnitus. If left unchecked and untreated, it can have serious consequences for long-term hearing health. A hearing care professional is in the best position to assess the situation and recommend treatments or solutions if needed. It is therefore important that anyone experiencing unexplained noises described as “ghosting” in the ears sees an audiologist or other professional as soon as possible.
Groups make it harder to understand speech.
Hearing difficulties can manifest in different ways, and determining if you have hearing difficulties can be a confusing process. One of the common signs people may experience is difficulty following fast-paced conversations. This can be especially noticeable in situations where multiple people are talking at the same time or in noisy environments, when individual sound sources become difficult to distinguish from each other and make following the conversation more difficult. If you understand part of the conversation, but frequently get lost or miss words in group chats. This may indicate that your hearing is not as fine as it used to be and it would be wise to have it checked out by a professional.
Increasing device volume to much higher levels.
Turning up the volume on your devices, be it a TV, radio or telephone, to levels much higher than is comfortable for others, may be a sign that you have hearing problems. For people with perfect hearing, some decibel (dB) levels may be uncomfortable because the sound is too loud.
However, a person who begins to lose their hearing may have difficulty hearing, even if the device is playing at a comfortable level for others. By turning up the volume louder than necessary, she is able to follow conversations and better understand what is being said without extra effort. The easiest way to detect hearing loss is to closely monitor how often you turn up the volume on your electronic devices, as this could indicate that your ears have become less sensitive and require evaluation by a professional audiologist.
Frequently asking people to repeat.
In any daily conversation, we expect to be able to communicate easily with each other. But if you constantly have to ask people to repeat themselves, it could be a sign that your hearing is impaired, whether it’s a minor problem or a more serious one. It can be helpful to ask yourself how conversations usually go and whether you’re trying harder than usual to understand what the other person is saying. Of course, communication problems can occur at any time, but if you experience this problem regularly, it may be worth consulting a medical professional to find out if you have hearing loss.
