There are different types of hearing loss; some are gradual and age-related, while others are from environmental factors like loud noises. Here are some signs you can look at when it comes to hearing loss.
Ringing in the ear
Ringing in the ear can be caused by tinnitus, and while tinnitus is not hearing loss, it is hearing loss adjacent. It can be an indicator that you need a hearing test. You might not hear a ringing – it could be a buzzing, a whistling noise, tinkling, or even whooshing noises.
This might be intermittent, or it could be permanent.
What? What?
In the middle of a conversation, you find that you need to ask ‘what?’ more than once. It might start when people are across the room from you, and gradually, you find that even when people are closer to you, you need to ask what they are saying. Most people don’t mind repeating themselves, but it’s a good idea to book home hearing services if either you or your relatives and friends notice it.
Volume
Over the last year, has the volume crept up on the TV and the stereo? This is typically a sign of hearing loss to some degree. It’s not just the TV volume that you need to turn up; you find you are making phone calls at full volume to hear the person on the other end clearly, too.
As well as an increase in the volume, you have the subtitles on because you need them, not just because it means you can semi-concentrate on the movie or TV show.
Another sign is that your friends, family, and maybe even your next-door neighbors have pointed out that the volume is too high.
Conversations
Conversations are getting increasingly frustrating, and you are finding that you’d rather not be in them at all. After any social interactions, you find that you feel very tired and need a long rest. Following conversations when you have hearing loss can be tricky – because you need to work extra hard to keep up, and your brain will try to fill in gaps, too.
And it gets even more complicated when there are two or more people talking to you at once – when that happens, you find it almost impossible to follow along.
You might find that you start to respond to things incorrectly because communication is now difficult, and the voices are muffled.
Misunderstanding with hearing loss happens often.
Ring Ring
Higher frequencies are often the ones that get lost first, and unfortunately, that is the house phone, the doorbell, birds, women, and children. Since all of these are at a higher pitch, you are more likely to start noticing you have issues with these.
If you have issues often with your ears and you think it might be an infection (and you skip out on going to the doctor!), you might be worried if it can do any long-term damage; here is what you need to know: Can Ear Infections Cause Permanent Damage To Your Hearing?
Comments are closed.