Hearing Loss and its Symptoms

Hearing loss is the condition that results when any part of your ear isn’t working the way it should. Approximately every 1 in 5 people between the ages of 40 and 60 suffer from some degree of hearing loss. Surprisingly, many of these people simply aren’t aware of the problem – or attribute their difficulties to some other causes.  
 
If you haven’t heard the birds singing for a while, you may have a hearing loss. Of course, you might think it’s not severe enough to worry about. But however mild your hearing loss might be, it will affect the quality of your life and relationships in some way or the other.  

Symptoms of Hearing Loss
In many cases, hearing fades so slowly you don't notice it. You may think people are mumbling more, your spouse needs to speak up, or you need a better phone. As long as some sound still comes in, you could assume your hearing is fine. But you may become more and more cut off from the world of speech and sounds.

Early on, high-pitched sounds, such as children's and female voices, and the sounds "S" and "F" become harder to make out.

Some of the other symptoms of hearing loss You may also be the following :

• Have trouble following a conversation when more than one person speaks at once
• Think other people are mumbling or not speaking clearly
• Often misunderstand what others say and respond inappropriately
• Get complaints that the TV is too loud
• Hear ringing, roaring, or hissing sounds in your ears, known as tinnitus
• Muffling of speech and other sounds
• Difficulty understanding words, especially in a noisy environment or in a crowd
• Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly
• Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio
• Withdrawal from conversations
• Avoidance of some social settings
• You have difficulty hearing people on the phone
• A feeling that you can hear, but not understand
• You are not sure where sound is coming from, known as localization