Hearing loss can be an isolating experience that may unfold over a number of years (even decades). Sometimes, existing damage causes a slow and iterative decline in hearing, and hearing loss symptom changes can be too subtle to notice day to day. Other times, the damage itself can occur at a slow rate – like consistently listening to a device at high volume for too long – which will compound hearing loss over time. For these reasons (and more) it’s important to be aware of some of the symptoms of hearing loss so you can take action before the condition worsens.
Due to the often subtle decline in hearing fidelity, it can be hard to identify these symptoms within your own life, let alone in another person’s. Grouping the signs of hearing loss into different categories can help give context to how we may be experiencing hearing loss, the types of hearing loss we may experience, and how we subconsciously adjust to it – which can keep hearing loss hidden. For the purposes here, we’ll be arranging the symptoms of hearing loss into two groups:
- Experiential Signs: things you experience first-hand in yourself
- Behavioral Signs: things you observe in others’ (or your own) behavior
Experiential Signs of Hearing Loss
These are typical symptoms that a person with either sensorineural or conductive hearing loss may experience. Many of these can be temporary symptoms with causes that don’t necessarily indicate hearing loss, but if they become consistent – or consistently affect quality of life – they are certainly cause for concern. If you or a loved one regularly experiences or describes the following symptoms, it’s time to undergo a hearing test with a qualified audiologist:
- Ringing in your ears (tinnitus) – the annoying high-pitched sound that isn’t caused by an external noise.
- Difficulty hearing in loud environments or with background noise – conversation in places like crowded restaurants, bars, grocery stores, etc.
- Trouble hearing speech in large, echo-filled rooms – places like churches or sports arenas where public address systems are used in a cavernous space.
- Ears feel clogged – a consistent pressure within the ear canal, especially if paired with muffled hearing.
- Trouble localizing sounds – regular inability to tell from what direction a noise originates.
- Difficulty hearing consonants in speech – especially with similar-sounding words, it becomes hard to distinguish consonants articulated in certain sections of the mouth: alveolar (S and T sounds), labiodental (F), dental (Th), palatal (Sh, Ch), glottal (H), or velar (K), among others.
- Voices sound muffled or slurred – even in quiet environments, speech sounds irregular or diminished.
- Dizziness or vertigo – consistent unstable feeling as if the earth is moving underfoot, like being on a boat or moving platform, or inability to regain balance.
- Some sounds are too loud – noises that don’t bother others are uncomfortable to be around.
- Sound characteristics change – sounds that were previously enjoyable or neutral suddenly are unpleasant to hear or sound “tinny”.
- Not hearing quiet environmental sounds – an absence of natural or environmental sounds in the audio spectrum, like rain, birds singing, subtle pet sounds, running appliances.
Behavioral Signs of Hearing Loss
People may not get unambiguous, clear indicators that their hearing is changing. In these cases, it’s good to consider some of the downstream effects of living with hearing damage and try to identify if your behavior is changing in ways that reflect some sort of hearing loss.
This type of self-reflection can be challenging, so it can be beneficial to get another person’s input into your behavior if you think you’re developing hearing issues. Regardless if you’re experiencing the hearing loss or are concerned about someone else, there are a few behavioral changes to look out for:
- Shying away from social settings – avoidance of social situations, particularly in group settings. Has there been increasing isolation, with no obvious cause?
- Disinterest in listening to music or other auditory entertainment – interest in listening to audio entertainment has declined or disappeared.
- Less startled by loud noises – instances where others are startled by a sound, but there is little reaction in the person of concern.
- Regularly asking people to repeat themselves – this is a normal request from time to time, but if it happens consistently or in otherwise quiet environments, it should be noted.
- Abnormally loud or soft talking – this can be the result of the changing ways in which the person hears themselves, by either talking unnecessarily loudly or too quietly.
- Need to listen to audio at high volumes – device volumes are reaching their peaks or are uncomfortable to everyone but the person of concern.
- Misunderstanding/ignoring what people say – giving incongruent responses to questions or statements or ignoring speech clearly directed at the person.
- Leaning in to hear with one ear – a subtle or obvious turn of the head to make the source of the sound closer to the person’s “good ear”.
Auditory Processing Disorder (ADP) Symptoms vs. Hearing Loss
It can be difficult to separate symptoms of physical hearing damage and issues with how well a person understands what they hear. There can be a lot of overlap between symptoms, but because hearing loss is typically an issue with the structures of the ear and ADP deals with how audio inputs are processed in the brain, some unique symptoms may display in people with ADP that are less likely in people with conductive or sensorineural hearing loss. Auditory processing disorder symptoms typically involve:
- Difficulty reading & spelling
- Trouble remembering or understanding spoken information
- Long conversational pauses before responding
- Jokes or sarcastic statements aren’t easily understood
- Easily distracted by sudden loud noises
- Trouble with long periods of listening
When is it time to seek help due to hearing loss symptoms?
The regularity with which a person experiences these hearing loss symptoms is the biggest indicator that it’s time for professional help, but if a person is displaying several of these symptoms or behaviors at once, that will also be cause for concern. If you or a loved one has persistent symptoms like those described above, or if you notice any symptoms have grown increasingly worse, don’t wait – contact a local audiologist for a test to determine the extent of any hearing loss you may have.
If you’re in the Chicagoland area, contact Prescription Hearing to get started taking care of any hearing loss symptoms you or a loved one may be experiencing.
