Listed below are common signs of hearing loss:

  • People mumble or talk too softly
  • Having to strain to hear normal conversation
  • Women and children are more difficult to understand
  • The volume on the TV or radio is too loud, so that others complain
  • Having to watch other people’s faces to follow a conversation
  • Feeling tired or irritated from straining to hear
  • Problems understanding in background noise like bars or restaurants
  • Asking people to repeat or asking “What?” often
  • Problems hearing or understanding on the phone
  • Noticing that one ear hears better on the phone than the other
  • Problems with people talking fast or with an unexpected conversation
  • Problems hearing birds, watches ticking, doorbells, telephones ringing or other high pitched sounds
  • Avoiding certain places where it is hard to understand
  • Having trouble locating where sounds are coming from
  • Answering inappropriately during conversations
  • Ringing in the ears (also called tinnitus)
  • Having ear infections
  • Having dizziness or vertigo problems
Hearing loss is most often caused by the aging process, ear infections, trauma to the ear, certain medications, exposure to high levels of noise, hereditary factors or certain disease processes. Over 90% of hearing losses are not medically treatable but can be helped with hearing aids.

Hearing loss can have a negative effect on quality of life, causing significant stress and social isolation. Not only are personal relationships effected, but employment issues and social/emotional issues also arise due to poor communication abilities.

Hearing loss is not “all or nothing”. Most people hear many different things just fine, but have difficulty hearing very soft or very high pitch sounds. When people who wear glasses take them off, they still see – they are not completely blind. They just don’t see very well. It’s the same idea for people with hearing loss – you still hear – just not very well. Some sounds are missing while others are not, causing misinterpretations and difficulty hearing in noisy environments. Hearing aids are designed to help put back the sounds that are missing to help you hear a more complete message.

For more information on Hearing Loss,
click on the following links:

Types of Hearing Loss / Tinnitus / How We Hear

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