What are the Earliest Signs of Hearing Loss?
Loss of auditory senses is seldom a sudden development, barring only instances where it was brought on due to very intense sonic or physical trauma. Deafness is a sensory degradation that will often start years or even decades before becoming evident. That’s the reason why deafness is frequently associated with aging, although it’s not a sign of aging. Aging does make us more susceptible to hearing loss, but it should never be taken as a sign of age. This makes it imperative that we learn about the earliest warning signs of hearing loss for timely diagnosis and treatment.
Everyone Seems to be Soft-Spoken
Some people do speak softly, whether it is their nature or politeness. However, if everyone seems to be softly spoken around you, it could be a sign of hearing loss. Over time, it may also start to sound like most people around you are mumbling in a barely audible tone. This may also be accompanied by tinnitus, although tinnitus alone should not be taken as a sign of impending deafness.
Phone Conversations Always Seem to be Difficult
There are several reasons why a phone conversation might be difficult to hear, and none of them have anything to do with your hearing. It could be due to a bad connection, poor cellphone reception, an issue with your phone or headset, an issue with the phone being used by the other person, background noise, etc. However, if it keeps happening very frequently, irrespective of the phone, cellphone reception, or the person on the other end, that is when you need to see an ENT.
People are Complaining About Your Hearing
This is one of those scenarios where you really need to pay attention to what people around you are complaining about. If several people in your family, friendship group, and/or office are complaining about the fact that they often need to repeat themselves to be heard or even noticed by you, that is a serious cause for worry. It may also be accompanied by other complaints such as your tendency to turn up the TV’s volume too high. You will not feel that it’s too high, but others will. Before things get worse, look through hearing aid options at phonak.com/us/en/hearing-aids.html.
Hearing without Understanding
To be able to hear without understanding what is being spoken can also be a sign of cognitive impairment, but this can be distinguished easily. If it’s a cognitive impairment caused by a stroke or a neurological condition, then you will still be able to hear what people are saying quite clearly, but the sounds won’t make sense. If it’s only an auditory problem, then you will be able to understand what they are saying, if they speak those same words louder.
The treatability of one’s hearing loss depends on how far it has progressed, and the underlying cause that’s responsible. Noting the early signs of deafness allows us a chance to stop the damage from getting worse and perhaps prevent a much worse outcome in the future. Unaided auditory impairment can lead to serious accidents on the road, at the workplace, and even at home.
