 | Ed Clausen M.A
M.A. Audiologist, CCC-A is a licensed Audiologist under the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He received his CCC-A in 1994 and serves as Company Audiologist for the 18 company offices of Midwest Hearing Aids, Inc. in Kansas. He holds memberships in the American Speech/Language and Hearing Association, the Kansas Speech/Language and Hearing Association, and the Kansas Hearing Aid Association. You may contact Ed at Midwest Hearing Aids corporate office in Wichita at 1 (800) 668-4055 or locally at (316) 264-2411. |
Audiology
2002-06-01 14:42:00
1st signs of hearing loss
Question: How do I first know I am experiencing a hearing loss?
Answer: Hearing loss usually develops over a period of years, and since it does not involve pain or possess any visible symptoms, it is frequently difficult for the individual to detect hearing loss and accept it as a health problem. It is very common for the family and friends of this person to notice the signs long before he himself does.The most widely experienced symptom of hearing impairment is when words are misunderstood. It is actually more common that the people with a hearing impairment hear part of a sentence and not understand it, than to not hear anything at all. In fact, the statement that hearing healthcare professionals hear most from their patients is, "I hear just fine, but I can't understand". This is because he or she may feel like the people around them are mumbling due to the fact that most hearing losses are more pronounced in the high frequencies. This loss of sharpness and clarity leads to the sensation that speech is muffled. The patient will hear that a person is talking to them and understand some of what is said, but not all of it. When that person's ears miss the sound, their brain may not guess correctly what the word is, therefore, misunderstandings will occur; for example, "He hit the ball" being heard as "He hit the wall". Unfortunately, the feelings caused by these experiences, compounded over time, may lead to isolation. People with hearing difficulty will consciously or unconsciously stay away from social events because it becomes too hard to try to hear everything. The individual can experience a degree of paranoia when everyone around him is laughing about something he didn't hear or understand; the thought process can turn to, "They're laughing at me." These feelings can further evolve into stress and depression. There have been studies that show that untreated hearing loss can worsen existing, non-related medical conditions, since depression and isolation lead an individual to distance himself from his support network and not seek consistent medical attention. Additionally, stress can worsen conditions like high blood pressure.Another sign of decreased hearing acuity is that a person with a hearing loss will usually prefer that the volume on radios or televisions be higher than what others would like. This symptom is usually only noticed by the people around him; he rarely is aware that he is turning the volume up to an unacceptable level.If others tell you that you are showing some of the above signs of hearing loss, schedule a hearing evaluation, even if you do not think you have a hearing loss. Hearing is an important part of your overall health. A hearing healthcare professional will thoroughly evaluate your hearing at many different frequencies, along with your ability to recognize words. This information can help you and your professional decide if you are in need of amplification or not, or if your hearing simply needs to be monitored for change. If amplification is indicated, it should be noted that today's hearing instruments are digitally programmable and can be very small and inconspicuous to wear. Your hearing healthcare professional will help determine what style of instrument and level of technology best meets your needs and lifestyle.
