Hearing loss is one of the most common medical issues experienced by older people. It is not uncommon for our hearing to decline as we get older, and that is why it is so important that we are all able to recognize the first signs of age-related hearing loss.
The sooner we are able to spot the early warning signs of age-related hearing loss, the sooner we can book an appointment with an audiologist and get the treatments, including hearing aids, that we need to prevent further loss and help us to hear more effectively with whatever level of hearing we do have left.
You Struggle with Phone Calls
If you are someone who usually talks on the phone with no problem, but you have noticed that you are finding it more and more difficult to understand what your friends and family are saying to you as you chat, then it could be a sign that all is not well with your hearing.
Many people with hearing loss get by because they are closer to the person they are talking to and are able to use lip reading to work out what is being said when they can’t quite understand, so when that option is taken away from you by being on the phone, it is often more obvious that something is wrong.
Voices Sound Muffled
If you have noticed that the voices of many people you speak to, especially children and adult women with high-pitched voices, are more muffled than usual, this could be an indicator that you need to see an audiologist about potential hearing loss.
High-pitched sounds are usually the first to go awry when you are experiencing hearing loss because the cochlea is often the first part of the ear affected and when that happens, processing high sounds is not always as easy as it once was.
You Crank Up the Volume
If you are someone who has to turn the TV up really loud when you are watching it, then unless you have always done that, it could be an indicator that you are starting to experience age-related hearing loss which masks it more difficult for you to clearly hear what is being said on recorded media.
You Struggle to Follow Conversations
If you find it hard to follow a conversation with people, especially when you are in a noisy environment like a bar or theater, then it could be a sign of hearing loss. Background noise is often low-pitched while speech is often high-pitched and this contrast can be really difficult to follow when you have hearing loss, but a good audiologist and the right hearing aids will help you out if this is the case.
Social Events Exhaust You
If you used to be the life of the party, but now you are exhausted after spending a couple of hours at an event, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s just the fact that you are getting older that is causing the problem, but it might not be so simple.
You see, hearing loss can really wipe it out of you, especially at social events when there is lots of noise around and lots of people you need to talk to. You end up spending so much effort concentrating on what people say and trying to fill in any gaps in conversation that you have missed, that it ends up draining you more than usual.
Your Ears Feel Like They Are Full
If your ears feel clogged up, then it could just be that they need to be cleaned of earwax buildup, after which your hearing loss should return to normal. Hearing loss can cause the feeling of fluid in the ears even when it is not wax or anything reversible that is causing the problem, so if your ears feel full, it is probably a good idea to get a hearing test performed by a professional audiologist.
When it comes to your hearing, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, so if you spot any of these warning signs of age-related hearing loss, book an audiologist appointment immediately.
Get in Touch with Professional Hearing Aid Associates Today
If you would like to know more about the first signs of age-related hearing loss, or you would like to book your own hearing test, then get in touch with a qualified audiologist by calling Professional Hearing Aid Associates at (785) 940-4101.
