Hearing Center: Common Symptoms of Auditory Loss

If you believe that you or someone you love may be experiencing auditory loss, you should submit to an audiometric test and see if you are correct. From there, you can make further progress in understanding this degradation with the help of your physician. Of course, you may not even know whether or not you are experiencing sensory degradation. When it comes on slowly (as it so often does), there may be few obvious signs you can rely on. These signs will be even more difficult to notice if you're concerned about someone else and not yourself. A hearing center can provide a test to check your response to sounds and frequencies, but first you have to know that you need such a test. Here are some common symptoms to be aware of. Muffled Sound This is one of the most common symptoms of auditory loss, especially when it comes on gradually. If you've ever been to a high powered rock concert, you've probably experienced temporary muffling for a few hours after the show (it should be noted that this isn't healthy for your ears, either). For someone who is experiencing permanent loss, this feeling begins to envelop them, except it doesn't go away after a few hours. A hearing center will quickly be able to identify this type of impairment, as well as the extent of it. Can't Follow Conversation Almost everyone can remember times when they were unable to hear what someone was saying to them. It happens all the time. But if it becomes a persistent problem, either you are suffering from some sort of auditory loss or you hang out exclusively with people who need to speak up. But while that moment of levity might give you some brief hope, you should really visit a hearing center, get an audiometric test done, and make sure you aren't in need of a listening aid of some kind. Volume Hike Do you notice that others are beginning to complain about the television's volume? If you find that you constantly have to get a few more notches on the volume of your TV and stereo, it could be more than a symptom of poor audio quality. It could be that you've experienced some auditory loss. Avoiding Social Situations If you've noticed that someone close to you has begun shying away from telephone conversations and social situations, auditory loss could be to blame. It can be very challenging for someone who is hearing impaired to deal with phone conversation and live situations where multiple people will be speaking. You might want to look into the possibility before jumping to other conclusions.