I am proud to share my hearing loss story and tips on Mango Health.
Hearing loss sneaks up on you gradually, making the signs easy to miss. You might first notice that it’s harder to hear in restaurants and other loud settings. You might ask people to repeat themselves more often or feel like the TV sounds garbled. Hearing health advocate Shari Eberts shares some important warning signs you should know.
I first noticed my hearing loss in graduate school. Students would make comments in class and sometimes I couldn’t hear them. Looking around the room at everyone laughing at a joke I missed, I felt left out and afraid. Given my genetics — my father and grandmother both had adult onset hearing loss — I knew it was time for a hearing test.
Many people do not recognize the signs and act so quickly. According to audiologists, it takes most people seven to 10 years to seek treatment after first suspecting that they have a hearing problem. This delay can be serious since hearing loss is associated with many health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and a higher incidence of dementia. It is also highly linked to isolation and depression.
Take a look at the list below. If any of these scenarios feel familiar to you, it might be time for a hearing test.
1. Noisy environments make it more difficult for you to hear. Restaurants, cocktail parties, and other social venues have become challenging listening situations. You are unable to follow the conversation over the clinking of cutlery or background music. The same may be true for extracting movie dialogue from the soundtrack special effects.
Click here to continue reading on Mango Health.
Living With Hearing Loss is also on Facebook and Twitter!
I like how you mentioned that difficulties due to noisy environments can indicate that you have hearing loss. My husband has been having some trouble hearing, and it tends to get worse when we’re out in public where there’s more noise. Maybe it would be a good idea to visit an audiologist to get his hearing tested to see if hearing aids would be beneficial for him.
That sounds like a great idea. Best to both of you!