Symptoms of Hearing Loss
In many cases, it may take years to notice hearing loss because it can fade away slowly. Other symptoms of hearing loss include:
- Trouble understanding phone conversations
- Trouble hearing in background noise
- Trouble following a conversation when more than one person speaks at once
- Perception that people are not speaking clearly or mumbling
- Often misunderstanding what people say and responding inappropriately
- Often having to ask people to repeat themselves
- Frequent complaints by others that the TV is too loud
- Ringing, roaring, or hissing sounds in the ears, known as tinnitus
Hearing Self-Test
How is your hearing? Rate yourself on how well you hear.
Do you:
- Feel embarrassed due to your hearing problems when meeting new people?
- Feel frustrated when talking to members of your family?
- Have difficulty hearing when someone speaks in a whisper?
- Have difficulty understanding conversations when visiting friends, relatives, or neighbors?
- Ask people to repeat sentences?
- Turn up the volume on the radio or TV?
- Feel people are mumbling?
- Have trouble hearing in groups or on the phone?
- Misunderstand what others are saying?
- Find it hard to detect high-pitched sounds such as women and children’s voices or birds singing?
- Withdraw from social activities?
- Seem to hear better from one ear than from the other?
- Feel isolated?
- Receive comments from others regarding your hearing difficulties?