The First Signs of Age-Related Hearing Loss

It is widely understood that hearing loss is a progressive condition. This is precisely why it can be so hard to spot. Your hearing loss is gradual rather than sudden, and for this reason, it’s important to watch for the earliest warning symptoms of age-related hearing loss to give yourself the best possible chance of protecting your hearing.

Dealing with hearing loss early might help you avoid stress, anxiety, depression and even dementia, all of which are related to hearing loss but can be difficult to detect. Treatment of your tinnitus in a timely manner can also help you maintain your present level of hearing. In order to assure treatment, it is essential to notice the early warning signals as they occur and then speak to an audiologist to determine what needs to happen next. With that in mind, here are some of the signs to look out for.

Straining To Hear Sounds in Loud Places

One of the things that your brain is exceptionally proficient at doing is isolating individual noises and voices in a noisy environment. But when your hearing starts to deteriorate with age, the amount of information that your brain can work with decreases. When there are a lot of people in a room, it might be difficult to catch every word that is being said and following conversations can be a big struggle.

If you discover that keeping up with these conversations is more difficult than it used to be, you should consider getting your ears checked by an expert audiologist, as it could be due to age-related hearing loss.

Ringing in the Ears

When there’s a lot of dirt and grime in your ears from wax or for other reasons, it can make sounds feel muffled or flat. An increase in ear canal fluid due to an ear infection can cause a sense of fullness or obstruction in the ear.

A ringing in the ears, known medically as tinnitus, is one of the symptoms of hearing loss. As many as 20 million adults in the United States have to deal with tinnitus. Similar to the way lip-reading works, the brain may attempt to fill in missing frequencies, creating a constant ringing sound. If you’re worried that this could be the beginning of hearing loss, consult your audiologist.

Children’s Voices Are Muffled

The cells in your cochlea that are responsible for detecting high-pitched noises are typically the first to die off as you get older. The cochlea is an organ in the inner ear that helps you hear. Because of this, it may be more difficult to understand people who have voices that are higher in pitch, such as children and women.

It’s also possible that you won’t hear the beep from your microwave or the insects chirping when the sun goes down because of this. This is a good sign that you might have the start of age-related hearing loss.

You’re Turning Up the Volume

If you discover that you are cranking up the volume on the television more often than is typical, you should probably get your hearing checked. The conversation in television shows is frequently mixed with music and sound effects, which might make it difficult to differentiate between the various voices if you hear bass tones more clearly.

It’s highly possible that other people will notice this indication of hearing loss before you do, particularly if they keep complaining that the TV is turned up too high. So even if you don’t notice it happening because it’s so gradual, it’s a good idea to pay attention to those who mention the TV’s volume and book an appointment with an audiologist to get your hearing tested.

Some Consonant Sounds Are Hard to Understand

S and th sounds are used a lot in the English language, but there is an issue with them. These consonant sounds have a tendency to vibrate on a frequency that gets harder to distinguish as your hearing gets worse. The same holds true for a number of other consonants as well, but the sounds that begin with s and th require your focus and attention in particular.

Next time you’re listening to the radio, watching TV or having a conversation with someone, try to pay particular attention to these sounds. If you can’t distinguish them easily, it’s worthwhile speaking to an expert.

For more advice and help with age-related hearing loss, contact Hearing Professionals of Alabama at Auburn: (334) 539-5335 and Montgomery: (334) 557-8930.