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Symptoms of hearing loss include :
- Muffled hearing.
- Difficulty understanding what people are saying, especially when there are competing voices or background noise. You may be able to hear someone speaking, but you cannot distinguish the specific words.
- High pitched voices like that of women and children being lost
- Difficulty in understanding conversation within a group of people.
- Listening to the television or radio at higher volume than in the past.
- Avoiding conversation and social interaction. Social situations can be tiring and stressful if you do not hear well. You may begin to avoid those situations as hearing becomes more difficult.
- Depression. Many adults may be depressed because of how hearing loss is affecting their social life.
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Other symptoms that may occur with hearing loss include :
- Ringing, roaring, hissing, or buzzing in the ear (tinnitus).
- Ear pain, itching, or irritation.
- Pus or fluid leaking from the ear. This may result from an injury or infection that is causing hearing loss.
- Vertigo, which can occur with hearing loss caused by Ménière's disease, acoustic neuroma, or labyrinthitis.
People who have hearing loss are sometimes not aware of it. Hearing loss usually develops gradually – so gradually that you don’t notice the loss of these subtle everyday sounds. Before you know it, you could start missing the important sounds in your everyday life, such as the voices of loved ones.
Of course, you may not think your hearing loss is severe enough to worry about. But however mild your hearing loss might be, you’ll find that your life will greatly improve by doing something about the problem.. Evaluate your hearing by taking a hearing loss self-test.
