What Are the Warning Signs?
Hearing loss isn’t typically an immediate change. Because changes in our hearing come on gradually and over a long period of time, it may be difficult for us to realize just how bad our hearing is getting. If you experience any of these 10 warning signs, it may be time to make an appointment with a hearing specialist for a hearing test:
● Mumbling more frequently, rather than speaking clearly.
● You have been told you’re speaking too loudly (and not when you’re angry!).
● You experience tinnitus, especially after leaving a situation in which you’ve been exposed to loud noise or if you feel a “fullness” in your ears after leaving a noisy setting.
● Your family complains about your volume settings or you’re asked to turn the radio or TV down regularly.
● You have a hard time understanding a conversation when in a large crowd or in a situation with a lot of ambient noise, which may lead to you withdrawing from social situations or avoiding group conversations.
● You find yourself “filling in” words in a conversation, because you can’t understand all of them or you frequently have to ask the person you’re speaking with to speak up, speak more slowly or enunciate.
● Telephone conversations become increasingly difficult.
● You have a hard time hearing someone when your back is turned to him or her while he or she is speaking.
● You no longer hear household sounds, like a faucet dripping or the air conditioner kicking on.