Act Now on Hearing Loss

Are you struggling to accept you have hearing loss?

It might help to know that facing up to hearing loss and seeking help reduces its impact. The first step is as simple as scheduling a hearing test and following the audiologist’s advice.

Does this sound familiar?

• You struggle to hear in crowded places
• People mumble more than they used to
• You miss the doorbell or phone ringing
• Your partner complains how about loud the TV is
• You frequently mishear or misunderstand what’s said
• You’re last to understand the joke

If you said “Yes,” to two or more of the above, you are likely to have some degree of hearing loss. But do you realize how this impacts on the people around you? For example, because you can’t hear yourself speak, your voice alters and becomes overly soft or monotone, which makes it difficult for your companions to hear what you say.

It’s likely you’ll lose the ability to hear high-frequency sounds first, such as women’s voices or children’s voices. If your partner is female, her speech may seem to come in and out of focus, depending on the syllables. For example, consonants carry much of the meaning of speech, and have higher tones to vowels. Thus, for a word like “supper”, you may only catch the end “-per” part.

This means you don’t fully understanding what’s been said (leading to isolation within a relationship) or you constantly ask your partner to repeat what’s been said. The latter is wearing for both of you, and in the long term, undermines your self-confidence.

Unfortunately, a coping strategy all too often adopted by those suffering from hearing loss is to avoid the situations which challenge them most. This might mean you are reluctant to eat at restaurants or go to the movies, which lessens your quality of life.

If you are uncertain what action to take, consider either an appointment with your physician or an audiologist. The physician can check out your ears for physical obstructions, such as excess wax. They may also be able to run a mini-hearing test to confirm you have hearing loss (although they may also refer you directly to an audiologist.)

A hearing test with an audiologist is an option open to everyone – you could even suggest your partner is tested at the same time! A typical test takes around half an hour and is not painful or invasive. You will simply have to press a button to acknowledge when you’ve heard a tone and repeat some words. This and other tests allow the audiologist to pinpoint the exact nature of the issue and suggest a solution, such as a discrete hearing aid. Know that denial is your worst option, and better by far is to address the problem and reduce the impact hearing loss has on your life.