Your last family dinner was disheartening. Not because of any intra-family drama (though there’s always some of that). No, the problem was that you couldn’t hear anything over the boisterous noise of the room. So you didn’t hear the details about Nancy’s raise, and you didn’t have a chance to ask about Todd’s new dog. And that was really annoying. Mostly, you blame the acoustics. But you can’t completely discount the idea that perhaps your hearing is beginning to fail.
It can be especially 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 red flags show up, it’s time to contact us for a hearing assessment.
Early signs of hearing loss
Not every symptom and sign of hearing loss is noticeable. But if you happen to see your own situation reflected in any of the items on the following list, you just may be experiencing some degree of hearing loss.
Here are some of the most prevalent early signs of hearing loss:
- You have a hard time following conversations in a busy or noisy setting. This is exactly what occurred during the “family dinner” example above, and it’s often an early sign of trouble with hearing.
- Certain words are difficult to understand. This warning sign usually pops up because consonants are beginning to sound alike, or at least, becoming more difficult to distinguish. Usually, it’s the sh- and th- sounds that are muffled. Sometimes, it’s the s- and f-sounds or p- and t-sounds that get lost.
- A friend notices that your media devices are getting increasingly louder. Maybe the volume on your mobile phone keeps getting louder and louder. Or perhaps, you have your TV volume cranked up to max. Typically, it’s a family member or a friend that points out the loud volumes.
- It’s suddenly very difficult to understand phone calls: People do a lot of texting nowadays, so you may not talk on the phone as much as you used to. But if you’re having trouble understanding the phone calls you do receive (even with the volume turned all the way up), you might be confronting another red flag for your hearing.
- You have difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds. Perhaps you find your tea kettle has been screeching for five minutes without your knowledge. Or maybe the doorbell rings, and you don’t notice it. Early hearing loss is typically most noticeable in specific (and often high-pitched) frequencies of sound.
- You notice ringing in your ears: Ringing in your ears is called tinnitus (and, technically, tinnitus can be other noises as well: humming, buzzing, screeching, thumping, and so on). If you experience ringing or other chronic noises in your ears, a hearing exam is your best bet because tinnitus, though it’s frequently an early warning of hearing impairment, can also indicate other health issues.
- You notice that some sounds become unbearably loud. It’s one of the more uncommon early warning signs related to hearing loss, but hyperacusis is common enough that you might find yourself encountering its symptoms. If specific sounds become oppressively loud (especially if the problem doesn’t go away in short order), that may be an early hearing loss symptom.
- You frequently need people to repeat what they said. This is particularly true if you’re asking multiple people to slow down, say something again, or speak up. You might not even realize you’re making such frequent requests, but it can definitely be an early sign of diminishing hearing.
Next up: Take a test
No matter how many of these early red flags you may experience, there’s really only one way to know, with certainty, whether your hearing is diminishing: get a hearing test.
In general, any single one of these early red flags could indicate that you’re developing some type of hearing impairment. A hearing evaluation will be able to tell what level of impairment, if any, exists. Once we discover the level of hearing loss, we can determine the best course of treatment.
This means your next family get-together can be much more enjoyable.