Important information in this article in Healthy Hearing by Joy Victory about Hearing Loss Symptoms.
The symptoms of hearing loss depend on the type of hearing loss you have—and the severity. A person with mild hearing loss in both ears, for example, experiences sound differently than a person with a profound hearing loss in just one ear.
For adults with any kind of hearing loss, these are all good indicators that you may not be hearing as well as you used to. You may experience all or just a few of these scenarios:
~ Friends or family say you turn the television or radio up too loud
~ You struggle to understand speech, especially in noisy environments
~ 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
~ You often ask people to repeat themselves
~ You’re dependent on a spouse or a loved one to help you hear
~ You find yourself avoiding social situations
~ You feel exhaustion after attending social events
~ You notice tinnitus, or ringing in the ears
~ Paradoxically, some sounds seem too loud, known as “recruitment”
Symptoms by hearing loss type:
~ High-frequency: high-pitched sounds are hard to hear
~ Noise-notch: some high-pitched sounds are hard to hear
~ Mid-range: mid-range sounds are hard to hear
~ Low-frequency: low-pitched sounds are hard to hear
~ Conductive (general): hearing loss from damage to middle or outer ear
~ Sudden: hearing loss onset is rapid
~ Flat: all pitches are hard to hear
~ Single-sided: only one ear is affected
~ Temporary noise related: the hearing loss may go away
High-frequency hearing loss symptoms
One of the more common types of sensorineural hearing loss is high-frequency hearing loss, which appears as a “ski slope” pattern on an audiogram. Many people who have presbycusis, a type of age-related hearing loss, develop this kind of hearing loss. It results in the reduced ability to hear things like:
~ Women and children’s voices
~ Certain consonant sounds like s, sh, f, v, th, f, p, making it difficult to understand some words
~ The car’s turn signal
~ Beeping sounds on timers and microwave ovens
~ Birds chirping
Symptoms of noise-notch hearing loss
Similar to high-frequency hearing loss, noise-notch hearing loss means you can’t hear certain high-pitched sounds very well (such as children’s voices). But unlike high-frequency hearing loss, you may still hear very high-pitched sounds (birds or beeps). This type of hearing loss is associated with noise-induced hearing loss, especially loud gun blasts. For example, hunters who develop shooter’s ear often have a noise-notch pattern of hearing loss.
Symptoms of ‘cookie-bite’ hearing loss (mid-range frequency loss)
Less common than high-frequency hearing loss, “cookie-bite” hearing loss (which gets its name from its distinctive pattern on an audiogram) is when a child or adult has trouble hearing sounds in the mid-range frequencies. These are sounds that are neither particularly high-pitched nor low-pitched. As you can imagine, this includes many common sounds, making everyday situations like talking to friends or listening to music challenging. Generally people with this kind of hearing loss will realize they can easily hear things like squealing alarms or booming thuds, yet struggle to hear speech or music at what are seemingly normal volumes for other people.
Read all the different types of hearing loss symptoms in the full article by CLICKING HERE
We are here to help if you or a family member is having any difficulties with hearing, hearing aids, hearing aid apps or Tinnitus please give us a call at 727-323-2471 and set up an appointment.
We can help you.
Susan E. Terry, Au.D., F-AAA, F-NAP
Doctor of Audiology
Board Certified
P.S. We are here to help if you have any questions about your hearing, feel free to give us a call at 727-323-2471