Hearing Loss Symptoms
Many people experience hearing loss as a gradual, natural deterioration associated with age, or as noise-induced occupational hearing loss. Either way, it’s not always noticeable at first, or even in your day-to-day life. It’s more likely that you will realise after a prolonged period of time as you will probably begin by mishearing words in conversation or on the television.
Recognising the symptoms of hearing loss as soon as possible will allow you to take steps to make it easier to manage so you don’t suffer as a result. So what are the most common reported symptoms that you might be experiencing without realising?
Turning up the volume
If you find you’re regularly turning the volume up on your TV, or - as is more likely - your family are commenting that it seems ‘too loud’ it could be because you are experiencing hearing loss. Chances are, turning up the volume you may not help, as you still won’t be able to hear it very well or very clearly. This is because you probably need more clarity and the ability to differentiate between different noises – not because the volume is too low.
Mishearing other people
If you regularly find yourself misunderstanding conversation, or voices seem to get easily drowned out in busy environments it’s advisable to get your hearing checked. Chances are you’re mishearing words and your brain is filling in the gaps in conversion with what it thinks makes most sense in the current context. It may not seem very important at first, but it can easily become frustrating if you don’t understand what’s happening.
Feeling stressed and worn out
Straining to hear in normal conversation, when you’re watching TV or chatting on the phone can quickly become exhausting. You’re likely to feel tired more quickly as your brain works overtime trying to distinguish muffed sounds and voices. After a while the stress associated with hearing loss can cause people to become withdrawn.
Avoiding socialising
Loud social situations, parties and social gatherings can really take their toll if you are beginning to lose your hearing. You may be finding it difficult to distinguish the sound of voices from background noise, which is exasperated by music and other people’s chatter, so you’re likely to find yourself actively avoiding busy noisy environments such as shopping centres and pubs, which can affect your enjoyment of life.
