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7 Factors in Recognizing Hearing Loss

7 Factors in Recognizing Hearing Loss

Detecting hearing loss in yourself or others, including friends and family members, can be a difficult task. It can be a gradual change, and it’s not always very obvious to those experiencing hearing loss or the people around them. The following are a few key points to keep in mind.

Deflection

Quite often, those experiencing hearing loss may deflect the blame on fellow conversation participants, using phrases such as “If people wouldn’t mumble, I’d hear fine!” or “People just don’t speak as clearly as they used to.”

Observation

It typically takes an outside perspective, that of a family member or friend, to notice someone’s difficulty hearing, rather than the person him or herself. In fact, denial may occur, primarily due to the variability in hearing ability from situation to situation and person to person.

Volume

Those experiencing hearing loss may keep TVs and radios at a high volume unbeknownst to them. When the volume is noticeably excessive to multiple others, this can be a sign of some degree of hearing loss.

Noise

People experiencing hearing loss traditionally have difficulty comprehending speech in noisy locations, such as restaurants, large-group events, in loud vehicles, etc. Cross-talk and group conversations can also prove difficult and frustrating.

Pitch

One telltale sign of hearing loss is an inability to understand female or youth speakers, as a higher pitch can be more difficult to make out.

Proximity

If you begin to have difficulty hearing someone speaking from another room, it may be a sign that hearing loss has occurred.

Age

Children experiencing hearing loss bring a different set of factors. Parents and guardians should be aware of delayed or aberrant speech and language development, inattention or poor school work, as these can all be signs of hearing difficulties. (Hearing screenings can be key in identifying this.)

Keep in Mind

Just ask yourself or your loved one the following questions when there’s a concern over hearing loss - if it's a "yes" to three or more, schedule a professional evaluation:

  • Do you have difficulty hearing over the phone?
  • Is it tough to follow conversations involving two or more people?
  • Do you receive complaints about the volume of your TV?
  • Do you strain to comprehend conversation?
  • Does background noise make it difficult to hear?
  • Do you often ask others to repeat themselves?
  • Do people seem to mumble when speaking to you?
  • Do you respond inappropriately when you mistunderstand others?
  • Is it difficult to hear when women and children speak?
  • Do people become frustrated when you misunderstand what they say?

Learn More

*From Hearing Health Foundation


Posted by Epicosity on Sep 11, 2015