Your workplace has decided to promote teamwork and cooperation by opening up the office floor plan. But this new arrangement has become a struggle for you. It’s because the elevated noise is making it hard to follow along with conversation and not because you miss the privacy of cubical walls.
Even if conventional hearing tests indicate completely normal hearing, the inability to hear conversations in noisy environments is frequently an early sign of hearing loss. You still may have trouble discerning conversations even with “Normal” hearing.
The complexity of speech perception
Speech comprehension is a complex mental process that involves substantial brainpower. Distinguishing speech from background noise and focusing on specific voices amidst a cacophony of sounds requires optimal hearing capabilities.
It becomes increasingly demanding for the brain to isolate speech in noisy settings as we get older. As a result, it becomes mentally exhausting to be in noisy environments like restaurants and bustling offices.
Identifying hearing loss when it’s in its early stages
Here are a number of ways that early hearing loss can manifest:
- Social isolation.
- Increased mental exhaustion due to heightened concentration needed for listening.
- When in noisy settings, conversations are difficult to understand.
Testing for hearing loss
It can be particularly difficult to identify these kinds of challenges when traditional hearing diagnostics seem to show normal hearing. Here are some tests being developed by researchers to identify hearing loss in its early stages:
- The Eye Test: A special pair of glasses is used in this test. The movement and dilation of your pupils can be tracked with these glasses. If your pupils react in a certain way, it implies that you’re concentrating a bit harder than normal. So if this tends to occur in crowded or noisy areas, it could be a sign that you’re having to strain to hear.
- Monitoring Electrical Signals: In this test, a device tracks the electrical EEG signals sent by your ears to your brain. It will be a strong sign that you’re having some hearing difficulty if these signals change in a particular way when you’re in a crowded place.
Early intervention will be possible if these tests, combined with personal observation, are able to detect hearing issues in their very early stages.
What are the benefits of early detection?
Detecting even slight hearing loss early offers two substantial advantages.
- Dealing with hearing loss promptly prevents mental decline related to neglected hearing impairments.
- It alleviates aggravation by supplying clarity about the challenges of being in settings like open office plans.
Consider finding help if you’re having trouble understanding speech even with “normal” hearing.
Early detection ensures timely intervention, enhancing overall auditory health and mental function. Schedule a hearing exam today and explore options right for you.
