Changes in hearing can be a more obvious and regular sign among older people. But similar to the process of aging, this process does not happen overnight. There may be many signs showing up gradually which is key to be paying attention to these first signs. If these symptoms are ignored, then the untreated hearing loss can lead to more severe problems making them isolated, depressed, and develop memory issues. If you or your loved ones are experiencing any of the below problems, head to an ENT center to get yourself checked with a hearing test.
Major signs of hearing loss:
1. Unable to follow talks in crowded places: Even though background noises will interrupt normal conversations, some of the high-pitch letters should be heard well. If you are not able to follow even these types of letters, then you will only hear the background noise better than any of the talks near you. This could also be due to the aging process, where the brain processes the sounds much slower and makes it tough to neglect background noise.
2. No clarity in children’s voices: Aging has its effect especially on the inner part of the ear termed cochlea and causes difficulty in hearing high-pitched sounds. It will make it tougher to hear any person like kids or women with a high-pitched voice. This would also be the reason where you may not be hearing the sounds from electronic devices at your homes.
3. Irritated and tired after a social meet: As you have the issue of hearing speech, the brain has to work harder to analyze what others may be speaking. This takes a toll on the brain to focus harder mainly on social events. You may feel more tired and annoyed after attending public events.
4. Focusing on lip movements instead of eyes: As the hearing sense doesn’t respond properly, the brain will work harder and make use of alternate sense like eyes to analyze the speech. Viewing the lip movements of a person will help you analyze the speech. This will cause you to focus more on people’s lips instead of eyes.
5. Ears getting clogged more often: It is mistaken as a filling of too much wax or fluid in the ears. But a reliable hearing test can aid in detecting the problem. Age-related hearing issues can make you hear sound unclear or clogged feeling.
6. You increase the volume of electronic devices like music players, TV, etc.: With the issues in hearing patterns, you tend to hear only sounds of music without being able to listen to the speech in between. This may stimulate you to increase the volume while other members get annoyed about the sound, it’s the right time to have a hearing test.
Signs of hearing loss in 1 ear
It may be tricky to find if you are facing hearing loss in one ear, as you may be still hearing sounds via another. Look out for the below problems to find if there is hearing loss in one ear.
- Sounds seeming dull at all places.
- Hearing is poor when sound appears from any one side.
- Difficulty in detecting the direction of the sound.
- A problem in neglecting background noise or distinction between various sounds.
- The problem in hearing noisy places or even focusing on long-distance sounds.
- No clarity on all types of speech.
- finding speech unclear
While hearing loss in one ear is mainly caused due to the temporary failure of the sound to pass via them, – ear infection of earwax issue. But it is always better to check the problem to avoid possible issues.
Hearing Loss Health Risks
- Hearing loss can incur multiple health issues if you neglect it anytime in your life. Hearing problems will not only affect the person but also their loved ones. While the patient may be unable to hear their peers speaking, they may be isolated or even depressed to a great extent as they fail to involve in talks. Your loved ones may become annoyed as they always need to increase their voice when they speak to you. This will increase the issues of loneliness in the person with issues in hearing over long periods.
- Many studies have shown that hearing loss can lead to other health issues like dementia. Many factors contribute to this health condition and one of them being behavioral changes. These studies have also proven that treating hearing problems at the right time and age, can decrease the chances of getting dementia. Meeting the hearing specialist as soon as you notice the above-mentioned symptoms can help you in avoiding the problem throughout life. They can carry appropriate hearing tests to ensure the accurate root cause of the problem and start the treatment or find a solution.
- One more crucial risk occurring from even a mild amount of hearing loss is accidental fall. This risk increases by a substantial amount for every decibel of hearing loss. Hence, hearing forms to be a key aspect of the overall health of an individual. You need to pay attention of you may be a victim of any above symptoms.
Bottom line:
Are you facing difficulty in hearing to speech especially in places where there is too much background noise? Are you unable to hear the rings of your mobile phones? Unable to detect the beeps of electronic devices? You might be experiencing hearing problems. You may be developing a feeling of isolation as you are missing on the conversation when you are with people. Do not worry, hearing loss is a common issue than you might think. With the advancements in medical science, you may be able to treat the problem and also find out an efficient solution for the issue. Head out to a reliable center like ENT allergy and sinus to diagnose hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ear). They craft a customizable plan to diagnose and treat the precise problem of every individual.
