Signs You May Have Hearing Loss

Our sense of hearing is invisible, and it's always on. This means we tend to take our hearing for granted. All of our senses keep us connected to the world around us, ensuring that we are aware of our surroundings and help to keep us safe. Hearing loss tends to happen gradually, over an extended period of time. You may not notice right away that your hearing abilities have changed.

Generally speaking, untreated hearing loss – or unacknowledged hearing loss, even – could affect many different areas of our lives. One major impact of hearing loss on our lives is that it makes us feel disconnected from our surroundings and the people we love. Here are some situations you may recognize in your life that could point to a hearing loss.

Your Conversation Partner is Mumbling

Untreated hearing loss greatly affects our ability to communicate. Speech recognition becomes difficult with untreated hearing loss, especially if your conversation partner is someone with a high-frequency voice (i.e. women and children). Difficulty with communication tends to lead to bigger problems, such as distancing yourself from your loved ones, avoiding social situations, and "faking it" – which means acting as though you understand when you really do not. This could harm clear communication channels with your loved ones. Healthy communication is crucial to any healthy relationship.

If you've noticed that lately your conversation partners are mumbling or that you've asked people to repeat themselves often, take it as a sign that you should go have your hearing tested! Chances are, not everyone is mumbling. Rather, it may be that your hearing abilities have changed.

The TV or Radio is Too Quiet

Have you found yourself cranking up the volume on the TV or radio? Do you wish the volume could go up higher on your devices, so that you can hear your music and media? This could be a sign of hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss, a form of hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noises over a gradual period of time, may occur to anyone at any age. In fact, it has been reported that young people are beginning to experience hearing loss at a much higher rate than people in their age group even a decade ago.

Loud sounds are harmful to your hearing, and to the hearing of those around you. If you've been turning up the volume as far as it can go, and your loved ones are complaining about it, schedule a hearing test! You'll hear much better with a hearing aid, and you'll also save your loved ones' ears from damage from loud volumes.

The Restaurant is So Noisy

This one may not just be your hearing: in recent years, studies have found that new restaurant designs have made acoustics very difficult for diners. With the elimination of table linens and carpeted floors, in exchange for industrial chic designs, louder music for ambiance, and open kitchen plans, restaurants can get very loud.

For people with normal hearing, dinner conversations may be strained. Now if you have a hearing loss, it'll even be more difficult for you to hear your dining companions. You may find yourself disconnected from conversations at the dinner table due to the distractions of background noise. A hearing test could identify a hearing loss, which would lead to the prescription of hearing aids. These devices are designed to cancel out background noise and focus on conversation, which could greatly improve your dining experience!

That Car Came Out of Nowhere

Did you know that untreated hearing loss leads to higher risks of falls, accidents, and hospitalizations? This is because our sense of hearing is designed to keep us aware of our environment and thus to keep us safe. Imagine if you are driving or crossing the street, and you don't hear a horn blaring down the road. You could have quite a scare jumping out of the way!

The sounds that alert us to danger, from car horns to fire alarms, are important to our safety and security. If you've been missing these buzzes and rings in your life, it's time for a hearing test.

What You Can Do

If you've noticed that your hearing abilities have changed, the first step is to schedule a hearing test with us at Atlanta Hearing Doctor. We provide comprehensive hearing tests, which will indicate whether you have a hearing loss, and if so, the degree and configuration. We will recommend hearing aids and provide hearing aid fittings. For more information, contact us at Atlanta Hearing Doctor today.

Atlanta Hearing Doctor

Reach out to our friendly team today. We look forward to helping you reconnect through better hearing.