The last time you had dinner with family, you were quite frustrated. It wasn’t because of family drama (this time). No, the problem was that you couldn’t hear a thing over the loud noise of the room. So you didn’t get the opportunity to ask about Dave’s new kitten or Sally’s new career. It was difficult. You try to play it off as if the acoustics of the room are the problem. But you can’t completely dismiss the idea that maybe your hearing is beginning to go bad.
It can be extremely difficult to self-diagnose hearing loss (that’s why, generally, it’s not suggested). But you should keep your eye out for certain warnings. When enough of these red flags spring up, it’s worth scheduling an appointment to get a hearing test.
Hearing loss’s early signs
The majority of the symptoms of hearing loss are subtle. But if you happen to see your own situation reflected in any of the items on this list, you just might be experiencing some degree of hearing loss.
Here are some of the most common early signs of hearing loss:
- You discover it’s difficult to understand particular words. This red flag often appears because consonants are starting to sound alike, or at least, becoming more difficult to differentiate. The “sh” and “th” sounds are the most prevalent examples. In some cases, it’s the s- and f-sounds or p- and t-sounds that get lost.
- You notice that some sounds become oppressively 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 specific sounds become unbearably loud (especially if the problem doesn’t go away in short order), that could be an early hearing loss symptom.
- High-pitched sounds are hard to hear. Perhaps you find your tea kettle has been screeching for five minutes but you didn’t notice it. Or perhaps, you never even hear the doorbell ringing. Hearing loss generally impacts particular frequencies usually higher pitched frequencies.
- You keep asking people to repeat themselves. If you find yourself asking numerous people to talk more slowly, speak louder, or repeat what they said, this is particularly true. This early sign of hearing impairment could be happening without you even noticing.
- When you’re in a crowded noisy setting, you have trouble hearing conversations. This is exactly what happened during the “family dinner” example above, and it’s often an early sign of trouble with hearing.
- A friend points out that your media devices are getting progressively louder. Maybe the volume on your cell phone keeps getting louder and louder. Or perhaps, you have your TV volume cranked up to max. Usually, it’s a family member or a friend that notices the loud volumes.
- Your ears are ringing: Ringing in your ears is called tinnitus (and, technically, tinnitus can be other sounds too: humming, buzzing, screeching, thumping, and so on). If you have ringing or other chronic noises in your ears, a hearing test is your best bet because tinnitus, though it’s frequently an early warning of hearing loss, can also indicate other health issues.
- You’re suddenly finding it hard to hear when you’re talking on the phone: You might not talk on the phone as often as you once did because you use texting pretty often. But you might be experiencing another early warning sign if you’re having trouble understanding the calls you do take.
Get a hearing exam
You may have one or more of these early warnings but the only real way to determine the health of your hearing is to get a hearing exam.
Generally speaking, any single one of these early red flags could indicate that you’re developing some kind of hearing loss. And if any impairment you may have, a hearing evaluation will be able to identify how far gone it is. And then you’ll be better equipped to find the best treatment.
This means your next family gathering can be much more fun.
