Hearing loss can often be quite sneaky, creeping up on you gradually with loss of hearing that happens in such small increments that you might not notice it is happening until you are struggling to keep up with conversations and missing out on listening to music and other sounds you enjoy. If you are dealing with hearing loss, then it can be a very frustrating and often an upsetting experience. Thankfully, technology has come on in leaps and bounds over the past years and hearing aids are available to help you mitigate the effects of hearing loss and ensure that you can hear your favourite sounds and keep up with conversations for longer. If you’ve noticed any of the following when it comes to your hearing, then hearing aids might be a useful investment for you.
You’re Not Hearing Everyday Sounds
Hearing loss will often creep up on you and you might not even notice that you’re not hearing everyday sounds until you sit and give it some thought. Take some time to think about when the last time you heard the birds singing outside was. When you’re driving, do you hear the turn signal in the car? Have you been having trouble hearing everyday sounds around your house, if you are not in the same room? Do you not hear the washing machine, or the ding of the microwave when it’s finished if you’re not in the kitchen at the time? If this is the case, then it might be time to consider getting hearing aids – and you might be surprised as to just how much you have been missing out on when it comes to what you do and don’t hear. You can find the right hearing aids for you through phonak.com/uk/en/find-a-hearing-care-specialist.html.
It’s Hard to Hear Consonant Sounds
If you are developing age-related hearing loss, also known as presbycusis, then it’s not uncommon to lose your ability to hear more high-frequency sounds. When speaking, these are consonant sounds P, S, F, Sh, V, and Th. These are also very important sounds whenever you are speaking to somebody, watching the TV, or listening to the radio, as they allow you to tell the difference between words that sound quite similar such as throw and show. If you have noticed that you’re often getting these words mixed up, responding inappropriately, or misunderstanding important parts of conversations, then this might be the cause. Thankfully, hearing aids can help.
Speaking to People in Crowded Places is Difficult
With high-frequency hearing loss, another symptom is that it can become increasingly harder to distinguish speech when you are in a noisy or crowded environment. If you have started dealing with this, then you may have found that you are more often avoiding social situations like meeting up with friends at local pubs and restaurants where it’s likely to be busy, or family get-togethers and celebrations. If you’re increasingly finding yourself needing to be in a quiet environment to be able to successfully hear the conversation, then there is a high likelihood that seeing a hearing aid specialist and getting fitted for a suitable hearing aid will help.
Ringing in the Ears
Millions of people around the world suffer from some kind of tinnitus, or a ringing in the ears. It’s a very common health condition, and has several causes, not all of which mean you are losing your hearing. However, both noise-induced and age-related hearing loss can lead to tinnitus. Researchers suggest that this condition might be the brain’s way of ‘filling in’ the missing frequencies that it is no longer receiving from your auditory system if you are losing your hearing. If you have noticed that you’re frequently experiencing a ringing in your ears along with other early hearing loss symptoms, then it’s worth seeing a specialist to get your hearing tested and get hearing aids if needed.
You’re Straining to Hear
Another early sign of hearing loss is that you are straining to listen to conversations which can be quite exhausting over time. If you have found that you are feeling much more tired and exhausted at the end of the day, especially if you have been spending the day having conversations with others, then it might be a case of listening fatigue. This occurs when you have trouble with following a conversation and end up straining to hear it, which requires much more effort than it normally would. When the auditory system isn’t working correctly, it takes much more effort on the part of your brain to process the sounds coming through the inner ear, which ultimately leaves you feeling more tired and worn out.
How Hearing Specialists Can Help
Today, there’s a lot of hearing technology that you can turn to if you have noticed these symptoms. Hearing devices are very sophisticated with the skills to amplify any high frequency sounds that you might be missing out on as a result of heating loss. Using hearing aids has been linked to several benefits, including a lower risk of dementia and depression in people with hearing loss. If you have noticed any of the above symptoms, then a hearing professional can evaluate your hearing and help you decide which hearing device is going to be the best fit for your hearing needs, budget, and lifestyle.
Even if you are not yet experiencing any of these signs of hearing loss, it is still worth getting tested. It’s a good idea to treat your hearing in the same way as you would any other aspect of your health and get tested on a regular basis to see how well your auditory system is doing. This allows you to keep on top of your hearing health and get any necessary treatment before any smaller problems get worse over time.
Hearing loss doesn’t often happen at all once. In most cases, it happens slowly and can be difficult to notice. Often, you begin to get used to it and might not realise how bad it has got until you’re struggling to keep up with conversations. If you’ve noticed any of these early signs, a hearing health professional can help.