Recognizing physical, behavioural and emotional signs and symptoms of hearing loss is essential in getting the treatment you need, and improving your quality of life.
Mental + Emotional
- You feel stressed out from straining to hear when others talk to you
- You feel annoyed at other people because you can't understand them
- You feel anxious about meeting new people for fear of not understanding them
- The idea of trying to communicate in social situations makes you nervous
- You've started to withdraw from social situations that you once enjoyed
Social + Behavioural
- You frequently require repetition
- You struggle to follow conversations with more than 2 people
- You have difficulty hearing in situations with lots of ambient noise, like restaurants or parties
- You have trouble hearing women or kids
- You try to read people's lips when they speak
- Your TV or radio is turned up to an unusually high volume
Physical + Medical
- You take medications that may affect hearing
- You have been exposed to loud sounds
- You have diabetes, heart, circulation or thyroid problems
- Your family has a history of hearing loss
- Voices and sounds seem muffled
- You experience ringing in your ears
- Consonant sounds like "ess" or "eff" are difficult to hear
How can I find out if I have hearing loss?
If you think you may have hearing loss after reading through the signs above, the next step is to confirm your suspicions, or put them to rest!
Talk to your friends and family.
Chances are that if you have hearing loss, your friends and family members have noticed. Even if they aren't aware that hearing loss is the problem, they will likely have noticed that something is amiss.
Ask your family and friends if they have noticed that you seem more distant, distracted or even annoyed in conversation than you once were.
Ask them if they ever find that you don't seem to hear or understand when they say things to you. If they say yes to any of these questions, it may be a sign that hearing loss is affecting your relationships, and that you should be tested!
Book a hearing test.
The only way to get a positive diagnosis for hearing loss is to be assessed by an audiologist. The audiologists at EarSense will perform a hearing test to determine if you are experiencing hearing loss, and if so, the type of hearing loss you are experiencing, and its degree.
