Your workplace has opted to encourage teamwork and cooperation by opening up the office floor plan. However, you find yourself having difficulties in this new configuration. It’s because the increased noise is making it challenging to follow along with conversation and not because you miss the privacy of cubical walls.
The inability to follow along with conversations in noisy settings often acts as an early indicator of hearing loss, despite conventional hearing exams producing normal results. You still may have trouble discerning conversations even with “Normal” hearing.
Speech comprehension is a complex mental process that requires significant brainpower. Differentiating speech from background noise and focusing on specific voices amongst a cacophony of sounds requires optimal hearing abilities.
As hearing begins to go, the brain encounters challenges in isolating and processing speech signals amidst competing noises. As a result, it becomes mentally exhausting to be in loud settings like restaurants and busy offices.
How to recognize the early signs of hearing loss
Early indications of hearing loss manifest in a variety of ways:
- Distraction and decreased engagement in social interactions.
- Increased mental fatigue due to heightened concentration needed for listening.
- Trouble understanding conversations in loud environments.
Hearing loss assessments
It can be especially hard to detect these kinds of difficulties when traditional hearing diagnostics seem to show normal hearing. Here are a couple of tests being developed by researchers to identify hearing loss in its early phases:
- The Eye Test: For this test, you wear a special set of glasses. The movement and dilation of your pupils can be monitored with these glasses. If your pupils react in a specific way, it implies that you’re concentrating a bit harder than normal. But it could be a sign that you’re straining to hear if this occurs in a loud setting.
- Monitoring Electrical Signals: The electrical signal transmitted from your ears to your brain is tracked by an EEG in this test. If these signals fluctuate in a particular way while you’re in a crowded or loud environment, that could be a strong indication of some problems with your hearing.
These tests, coupled with personal observations, aim to identify hearing problems at their nascent stages, aiding early intervention.
What are the benefits of early detection?
There are two important advantages to early detection.
- Addressing hearing loss quickly prevents cognitive decline related to neglected hearing impairments.
- It reduces frustration by providing clarity about the difficulties of being in places like open office plans.
If you’re experiencing trouble following conversations in spite of “normal” hearing, think about getting a professional assessment.
Total mental function and auditory health will be improved by early detection. Call us today and let us help you with any hearing loss you might have.