The last time you ate dinner with your family was a difficult experience. It wasn’t because your family was having a difficult time getting along. The problem was the noise, which was making it hard to hear anything. So you weren’t able to have very much enjoyable conversation with any of your family members. The whole experience was incredibly aggravating. You feel like the room’s acoustics played a big part. But you’re also willing to accept that your hearing could be starting to go.
It’s not generally recommended to try to self diagnose hearing loss because it generally isn’t possible. But you should pay attention to some early warning signs. When enough of these red flags surface, it’s worth making an appointment to get examined by a hearing specialist.
Early Signs of Hearing Loss
Several of the indications of hearing loss are subtle. But if you should find yourself noticing any of the items on the following list, you just may be experiencing some degree of hearing loss.
Some of the most prevalent early signs of hearing impairment might include:
- You frequently need people to repeat what they said. If you find yourself repeatedly asking people to speak up, repeat themselves, or slow down when they talk, this is particularly true. You might not even realize you’re making such frequent requests, but it can certainly be an early sign of diminishing hearing.
- High pitched sounds are difficult to hear. Things like a whistling teapot or ringing doorbell sometimes go undetected for several minutes or more. Particular frequencies (frequently high pitched) will typically be the first to fade with early hearing loss.
It’s Time to Get a Hearing Exam
No matter how many of these early warning signs you may encounter, there’s really only one way to recognize, with confidence, whether your hearing is fading: get a hearing test.
Generally speaking, any single one of these early warning signs could be verification that you’re developing some kind of hearing impairment. What level of hearing loss you may be dealing with can only be established with a hearing evaluation. Then it will become more clear what needs to be done about it.
This means your next family get together can be much more enjoyable.
