Your last family dinner was disheartening. It wasn’t because of family drama (this time). No, the issue was that you couldn’t hear a thing over the boisterous noise of the room. So you didn’t get the details about Nancy’s raise, and you didn’t have the ability to ask about Todd’s new dog. And that was really irritating. You try to play it off as if the acoustics of the room are the problem. But you can’t totally discount the idea that perhaps your hearing is beginning to go bad.
It’s not generally recommended to self diagnose hearing loss because it’s truly difficult to do. But you should watch for certain warning signs. When enough red flags show up, it’s time to make an appointment with us for a hearing assessment.
Early signs of hearing impairment
Not every sign and symptom of hearing loss is evident. But you may be experiencing hearing loss if you can relate to any of the items on this list.
Some of the most common early signs of hearing impairment may include:
- When you’re in a crowded loud setting, you have trouble following conversations. This is frequently an early indication of hearing loss.
- It’s suddenly very hard to make out phone calls: People do a lot of texting nowadays, so you might not talk on the phone as much as you once did. But if you’re having trouble understanding the phone calls you do receive (even with the volume turned all the way up), you may be experiencing another red flag for your hearing.
- You keep requesting that people repeat themselves. This is particularly true if you’re asking multiple people to slow down, say something again, or speak louder. You may not even know you’re making such frequent requests, but it can definitely be an early sign of hearing impairment.
- You find that some sounds become unbearably loud. You may or may not encounter this but if you do, keep in mind that it can be an early warning of hearing loss. If you are having this issue, particularly if it persists, it’s time for a hearing exam.
- High-pitched sounds are hard to hear. Maybe you just realized your teapot was whistling after five minutes. Or perhaps, you never even notice the doorbell ringing. Hearing loss usually affects specific frequencies usually higher pitched frequencies.
- You hear ringing in your ears: This ringing (it can actually be other noises too) is known as tinnitus. Tinnitus isn’t always related to hearing problems, but it is frequently an early warning sign of hearing loss, so a hearing test is probably in order.
- A friend points out that your media devices are getting progressively louder. Maybe the volume on your mobile phone keeps getting louder and louder. Or perhaps, your TV speakers are as loud as they go. Typically, it’s a family member or a friend that points out the loud volumes.
- Certain words are difficult to understand. This symptom takes place when consonants become difficult to hear and differentiate. The “sh” and “th” sounds are the most common examples. But another common example is when the “s” and “f” sounds become confused.
Get a hearing assessment
No matter how many of these early warning signs you might encounter, there’s really only one way to know, with certainty, whether your hearing is diminishing: get a hearing test.
In general, any single one of these early warning signs could indicate that you’re developing some type of hearing loss. A hearing assessment will be able to reveal what level of impairment, if any, exists. Once we discover the degree of hearing loss, we can determine the best course of treatment.
This means your next family get-together can be much more fun.