Approximately 37.5 million Americans report having some trouble hearing, but fewer than 30% of adults who could benefit from hearing aids have ever worn them. Untreated hearing loss doesn’t go away; instead, hearing loss will continue to progress, and this has been proven to contribute to poor mental health, physical health and social isolation.
Hearing loss, particularly age-related hearing loss, typically develops gradually as the mechanisms in your inner ear age and deteriorate. Since it happens gradually, you might not even notice at first and subconsciously adopt new habits to compensate for the hearing loss.
There are some subtle signs that you may be in the early stages of hearing loss, and we’ve listed them below. If you notice any of these signs, either in yourself or in a loved one, it might be time to get your hearing checked and begin your journey with hearing aids.
1: Everyone Is Mumbling
The first sounds to fade away with hearing loss are high-frequency sounds, which make up the majority of consonant sounds in speech. This can cause it to sound like people are mumbling, when in actuality, your brain is only getting half the information.
2: Pretending to Understand
Nodding along and pretending to hear when you’re in a conversation might be a habit you pick up without realizing it. If you notice that you’re letting conversations pass you by, that’s a sign of hearing loss. Be wary of the tendency to bluff, as it could lead to an aversion to socialization.
3: Difficulty Understanding Conversations
While you’re pretty sure you heard the words that your friend said, it takes you a moment to “catch up” with their meaning, especially if you’re in a crowded environment. You may not initially register this as hearing loss because you can still hear them, but struggling with the mental processing element of hearing is still hearing loss.
4: Listening Fatigue
Hearing loss forces your brain to work harder to receive and process sound information, and all that extra work is taxing. This leads to a phenomenon called listening fatigue. If you feel drained after a conversation or overly tired at the end of the day, it could be listening fatigue.
5: Phone Calls Are Harder
Usually, sound enters both ears, but when you’re talking on the phone, it only enters one ear, making it a lot more difficult if you have hearing loss. Also, you might miss calls a lot due to not hearing the phone ring.
6: Feeling Irritated with Background Noise
If you’re in a conversation in an environment with lots of background noise, the volume of that background noise can scramble and obscure what you’re trying to listen to, which can be very frustrating. Or even when alone, it may sound like background noise is more noticeable than normal because your brain is struggling to filter it out.
7: Some Sounds Seem Louder
This one is counterintuitive, but it’s true. If you’ve lost some hearing and struggle with certain pitches, your ears may overcompensate by emphasizing the pitches you still can hear well.
8: Balance Issues
Your inner ear is an imperative part of both your hearing and balance systems, and due to that intersection, these two systems interact with each other. Dizziness and hearing loss are often closely related.
9: Turning the Volume Up
You may not even have noticed that you’ve turned the volume on the TV up too high unless someone points it out, or you reach max volume and still feel like you can’t hear well. This is definitely a sign to watch out for, as you may be unknowingly exposing yourself to dangerous volume levels, jeopardizing your residual hearing.
10: Your Family Is Worried
Our loved ones are usually the first ones to notice the signs of hearing loss. If your partner, family members, friends or anyone else in your support network has brought up concerns about your hearing, don’t discount their worries. It’s probably time for a hearing test.
Don’t wait to get a hearing evaluation if you suspect you or a loved one is developing hearing loss. Call Waterville Audiology today, and we’ll schedule a hearing test and see how hearing aids can reconnect you to the world.