It’s not as if you simply wake up one day, and your hearing is gone. Hearing loss happens in degrees for most people, particularly when it comes to aging. Age-related hearing loss affects about one in three people in this country. Many of them are over the age of 75 before they notice a change. You might not realize the problem immediately even though some symptoms show up earlier.
The early signs of progressive hearing loss are subtle. Recognizing them as soon as possible is essential to slow down the progression of hearing loss or other health problems related to hearing loss. You can’t identify the signs if you don’t know what they are, though. Consider these eight barely noticeable indicators that you may have hearing loss.
1. Ringing in The Ears
This is a symptom that people have a tendency to neglect if it doesn’t become too disruptive and it’s actually not that subtle. Tinnitus, the medical term for the ringing, is a typical symptom of hearing loss.
The ringing can be intermittent and only act up when triggered. Perhaps the ringing only occurs when your tired or in the morning for example.
Tinnitus is an indicator that something else is going on with your body so it should never be neglected. Besides hearing loss, tinnitus can be induced by high blood pressure, trauma, or a circulatory problem. If you want to know for certain, you will need to consult your doctor.
2. Talking on The Phone is Stressful
It’s easy to make excuses for phone problems like:
- I have an old phone.
- My phone is damaged from being dropped.
- I’m not used to my phone’s newer technology yet.
Think about why you dislike using our phone. If you turn the volume all the way up and can’t comprehend what is being said, let someone else test the phone for you. If they can hear the conversation and you can’t, your hearing is the problem.
3. It Seems Like Everybody Mumbles Now
It used to be only the kids, but recently, the lady on the TV news, your neighbor, and your spouse all have taken to mumbling when they talk to you. It’s hard to imagine that everyone you deal with suddenly has poor enunciation.
The most likely answer is the way you hear words is changing. One of the first indications that your hearing is changing is when talking sounds like mumbling and consonants such as “S” and “T” drop off.
4. What?
You might not even recognize that you can’t hear conversations any more until someone points out that you say “What? a lot. Very often, the people you see every day like coworkers or family are the first to notice you are having difficulties hearing. If someone says something about it, pay attention.
5. Some People You Hear Fine But Others Not so Much
Perhaps when you are having a chat with your neighbor everything sounds okay but when his wife starts to talk you can’t make out a word. It’s a common sign of sensorineural hearing loss or damage to the nerves that send electrical messages to the brain.
Her voice isn’t as clear because it’s higher pitched. Your daughter or grandchild may present the same issue. Even things like the microwave or an alarm can be a problem. Those sounds are high pitched, also.
6. Going Out Used to be Much More Fun
Again, there are those people who mumble, and that’s not fun. Also, being in noisy places makes comprehending what people say that much harder. It becomes impossible to hear anything when you are at dinner and people start chatting around you or the AC comes on.
7. You Never Used to Feel so Tired
It’s can be draining struggling to comprehend what people are saying. You are more tired than normal because your brain is working harder to process what it hears. You may even notice changes in your other senses. If your brain is using 110 percent of its time and energy to comprehend words, what’s left for your eyesight or balance? If your last eye exam was okay, then the next thing to get tested is your hearing.
8. You Can’t Hear The TV
Rather than blaming the service provider when you need to keep turning the TV up, think about getting a hearing exam. When you have loss of hearing it can be difficult to hear dialog. There is the background music confusing things, for instance. How about the other sounds in the room such as the AC or the ceiling fan? Your hearing is probably starting to falter if you have to keep turning the volume up.
A professional hearing exam will tell you for certain and that’s the good news. Hearing aids should get things back to normal if it turns out that your hearing has declined.