Hearing loss is one of the most common health conditions people experience today. Nearly 1 in 6 people have some degree of impaired hearing, making it the third most pervasive chronic medical condition people live with. Though it is common, hearing loss is still widely untreated. Only a third of people who could benefit from treatment actually receive it. Untreated hearing loss can significantly affect everyday life by straining communication, relationships, social life, and work performance. It can also increase health risks and take a toll on quality of life. Recognizing symptoms and intervening early can transform your health and wellness in life-changing ways.
Common Hearing Loss Symptoms
It takes an average of 7 years for people to address hearing loss symptoms. Contributing to this is the fact that hearing loss often occurs gradually which means that symptoms can remain unnoticed for quite some time. Being able to recognize symptoms can help you identify hearing loss. Common symptoms include the following:
- Tinnitus: a buzzing or ringing like noise in one or both ears.
- Struggling to hear in environments with background noise (restaurants for example).
- Sounds are slurred, muffled, or distorted.
- Frequently asking others to speak louder, repeat themselves, or speak slower.
- Missing parts of a conversation.
- Turn up the volume on your TV and other electronic devices.
- Lip reading to identify individual words.
- Pretending to hear to get through a conversation.
- Hearing better out of one ear compared to the other.
These symptoms can be experienced mildly to more profoundly, depending on the degree of hearing loss present. Symptoms often make it challenging to engage in conversations which can lead to avoiding them as much as possible. Social withdrawal is a common effect of untreated symptoms which can affect relationships as well as mental health.
Questions to Ask Yourself
To understand if you are experiencing hearing loss, there are several useful questions you can ask yourself. This includes:
- Are you spending less time with loved ones?
- Have you shared your hearing challenges with friends and/or family members?
- Do you struggle to hear while out with friends in noisy restaurants?
- Are social settings like the holidays and parties stressful because many people are talking all at once?
- Do you avoid having conversations with coworkers and loved ones?
- Are you participating less in the activities that you love because you aren’t fully enjoying them?
- Are you arguing with your partner over the volume of the TV or miscommunication?
- Do you find yourself feeling excluded or left out of conversations?
These are all signs of hearing loss. Social withdrawal, isolation, and being embarrassed to share hearing loss with loved ones are common experiences when you have hearing loss. It is important to recognize these symptoms and signs as indicators of changes to your hearing health. The sooner you recognize what you are experiencing, the sooner you can seek treatment.
Seeking Treatment
There are effective treatment options that can transform your health and everyday life in significant ways. The first step towards treating hearing loss is scheduling an appointment for a hearing test. Hearing tests involve a painless and noninvasive process that measures your hearing capacities in both ears. This identifies any hearing loss and the degree of impairment in each ear. Once your hearing needs are identified, your hearing healthcare provider is able to tailor treatment to meet your specific needs.
The most common treatment for hearing loss is hearing aids. Hearing aids are electronic devices that help absorb and process speech and sound. The support that hearing aids provide alleviate symptoms and maximize one’s hearing capacity. This makes it easier to hear and navigate everyday environments with greater awareness as well as ease. Today’s hearing aids are savvier and more innovative than ever before. There is a wide range of hearing aid styles, features, and technologies that are designed to enhance hearing in everyday settings. These features deliver enhanced sound quality and increased connectivity. Treating hearing loss strengthens communication, improves relationships, enriches social engagement, and boosts overall health and wellness.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment for a hearing consultation. Having your hearing health comprehensively assessed is the first step towards living more fully.