Symtoms of Hearing Loss

Recognizing a hearing loss in yourself, or someone you know, is the first step toward improving the situation.

Symptoms include:

   Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds, such as birds singing, or    difficulty understanding higher pitched voices such as women's and children's.

   Difficulty hearing or understanding at public gatherings: concert halls, theaters, houses of worship - where sound sources are far from the listener.

   Difficulty understanding conversations within a group of people, or on the telephone

   A common report of people with certain types of hearing loss is that speech is loud enough, but not clear.  They report that speech often sounds "mumbled."

Because hearing loss can develop over several years, most people are not aware of the extent of their loss until family or friends bring it to their attention.  Even then they might deny that they have difficulty hearing.

People with mild hearing loss often use the following tactics to cope with the situation:

   Turning up the volume on the TV to a level that disturbs others

   Consistently asking people to repeat themselves, or to speak louder

   Avoiding social situations such as restaurants or parties, where noise can make it difficult to hear conversation

   Turning the head to one side while listening

Although these habits can help individuals with hearing loss in some situations, the hearing loss is most likely depriving them of a wide range of life's sounds.  Eventually, as the hearing loss progresses, the above techniques won't provide adequate hearing assistance.