Hearing loss is usually an aggravating condition that can be caused by a number of things. There are some situations where hearing loss is caused by a more severe underlying health problem and isn’t simply the result of an injury or aging.
Watch out for these hearing loss red flags
Hearing loss will often throw up various red flags meaning it’s time for a hearing assessment. Here are a few of those red flags that should make you take notice.
Difficulties hearing on the phone
Even with a volume control setting, you might find it hard to hear the individual you are talking to on the phone. If you are continually cranking the volume up louder and louder on your cell phone or landline, you need to make an appointment as soon as you can for a hearing assessment.
Difficulty following conversations
Although getting lost during a conversation isn’t always an indication of hearing loss, it may be a sign of hearing loss if you frequently have trouble processing the conversation when two or more individuals are talking at the same time.
Family & neighbors are complaining about a loud TV
It can be challenging to follow tv shows, particularly if music is combined with dialog. It’s important to understand that turning the television up louder doesn’t always make the sound clearer. But if you constantly need the tv turned up to a high volume that is uncomfortable for other people in the room or if your neighbors can hear your television, it is time to check your hearing.
Difficulty hearing in noisy settings
If you are in a public location and the background noise makes it hard to hear the other people with you, it typically means you struggle to mask background noise and focus on speech. People who are developing hearing loss most frequently have this complaint.
You keep asking people what they said
Simply because you can’t hear somebody mumbling several feet from you doesn’t mean you have hearing loss. Still, if you say the word “what” more than any other word in your vocabulary, it might be a red flag that you aren’t getting sound signals clearly in order to process speech correctly.
Misunderstanding what people say
It can be a sign of high frequency hearing loss, often an awkward one, if you regularly misunderstand what people are saying. This form of hearing loss makes it difficult to distinguish speech.
Contact us for a hearing test as soon as you can if you are noticing any of the above red flags. Here’s the good news, hearing testing is easy and the stigma of hearing loss is a thing of the past so there’s no reason to continue to have difficulty hearing.