Hearing loss is a varied condition; sometimes it arises immediately after exposure to extremely loud noise, and other times it creeps up over several years, as is the case with age-related hearing loss. When hearing loss develops gradually, it’s easy to miss. Let’s look at a few signs of damage that indicate you should schedule a hearing test with Olympic Hearing & Balance.
1. You Can’t Understand Others
Trouble with speech comprehension is one of the most obvious signs of hearing loss. You may ask others to repeat themselves more often, assume that people are mumbling or feel like you can hear that someone is talking, but not understand what they’re saying.
2. You Find Background Noise Frustrating
Many people first notice that they have difficulty hearing in crowded restaurants like Peninsula Brewhouse on busy evenings. That extra difficulty arises because hearing loss makes it difficult to separate the speech you want to hear from all the background noises you don’t. Essentially, hearing loss fuses competing sounds[1] to the point that you’ll have trouble focusing on the speech of only one speaker.
3. You Hear a Ringing in Your Ears
Tinnitus, the presence of a ringing, buzzing, hissing or clicking sound in the ears with no identifiable source, is a common symptom that presents with hearing loss. You might have noticed the symptom alongside muffled hearing following a booming concert in the past.
4. Turning up the TV
It’s easy to turn the TV volume up higher than usual without even realizing it. If you notice the TV volume is way higher than it used to be, or other people point out how loud it is, that’s a clear sign of hearing loss.
5. Conversation Fatigue
Hearing loss requires you to use more effort to comprehend speech. As a result, you might find yourself feeling more fatigued than usual after a conversation-heavy day. We call that feeling listening or auditory fatigue.
If you notice one or more of the above signs of hearing loss, call us today to schedule a test. Our specialists at Olympic Hearing & Balance can identify hearing loss and get you started on the right treatment path.
[1] Goupell, M. J., Stoelb, C., Kan, A., & Litovsky, R. Y. (2021). Effect of simulated bilateral cochlear implant processing on spatial release from masking. Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, 22, 313–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10162-021-00790-7