Hearing loss is usually a frustrating condition that can be caused by a variety of things. Although hearing loss is often caused by age or an injury, in some circumstances, hearing loss might be a symptom of a more serious underlying medical condition.
Look out for these hearing loss red flags
Hearing loss will often throw up a variety of red flags indicating it’s time for a hearing assessment. Here are a few of those red flags that should make you pay attention.
Having difficulty hearing phone calls
Even with a volume control setting, you may find it difficult to hear the individual you are talking to on the phone. If you are constantly turning the volume up louder and louder on your cell phone or landline, you need to schedule an appointment as soon as possible for a hearing assessment.
Trouble making out conversations
Although getting lost when you’re having a conversation isn’t always a sign of hearing loss, it might be a sign of hearing loss if you regularly have difficulty processing the conversation when two or more individuals are talking simultaneously.
People around you are complaining about the increasing volume of your TV
Following along with television shows, especially when there’s music and dialog, can be challenging. It’s important to recognize that turning the television up louder doesn’t always make the sound clearer. But it’s time to have your hearing assessed if your neighbors can hear your TV or if you continuously need the volume on a very loud setting.
Difficulty hearing in noisy environments
If you are in a public location and the background noise makes it hard to hear the others with you, it generally means you struggle to filter out background noise and focus on speech. People who are developing hearing loss most frequently have this complaint.
You keep asking people what they said
If someone is mumbling a few feet from you and you’re unable to hear them, that doesn’t automatically mean you have hearing loss. Still, if you say the word “what” more than any other word in your vocabulary, it may be a red flag that you aren’t receiving sound signals clearly in order to process speech properly.
Failing to understand what people say
It can be a sign of high frequency hearing loss, often an awkward one, if you frequently misunderstand what people are saying. This type of hearing loss makes it difficult to distinguish speech.
If you are experiencing any of the above red flags, you should schedule a hearing assessment as soon as possible. Here’s the good news, hearing testing is simple and the stigma of hearing loss is a thing of the past so there’s no reason to keep having difficulty hearing.