Hearing Loss

Hearing is a precious gift, hearing loss can inhibit a person’s ability to experience the sounds around them. And, this affects not only their lives, but also the lives of those around them.

Symptoms 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. Difficulty understanding conversations within a group of people, or when background noise is present. Some people with certain types of hearing loss report that speech is loud enough but not clear. The voices they hear are mumbled.

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

Causes of hearing impairment:

Most often a hearing loss develops gradually and painlessly. Hearing loss can be caused by:

• The natural aging process.
• Exposure to loud or constant noise.
• Inherited medical conditions.
• Illness.
• Traumatic injury.
• Ototoxic medication.
• Tumors.

Most people typically disregard their hearing loss for 5-7 years. But this is a bad decision. Putting off the inevitable will just make it harder to rectify the problem. Your brain gets used to not hearing everyday sounds and the longer you live without sounds, the harder it is for the brain to get used to comprehending them again. Regular hearing instrument use can prevent deterioration of your brain’s ability to interpret sounds.

Testing for hearing loss:

If you suspect that you have a hearing loss, the first step is to make an appointment with us and we will give you a hearing test and evaluation.

The result of the hearing test will be used to determine the type and severity of your hearing loss, and whether you might benefit from hearing aids. If a hearing aid is the answer thanks to today’s technology nearly all individuals with hearing loss can be helped with a hearing instrument.

Should a referral be necessary to a doctor or ENT Consultant this will be discussed with you and a report forwarded on.