Symptoms of Hearing Loss

As with any problem the first step in dealing with hearing loss is the realisation and acceptance of the existence of the problem Most hearing losses occur gradually, so the symptoms are often difficult to recognize. People might begin turning up the volume on the TV, or asking other people to repeat themselves. When our hearing starts to fade we tend to forget how things sound. We start to live in a quieter world, unaware that we are missing the softer sounds of everyday life, like the pattern of rain or birdsong. The realisation of the existence of the hearing loss is often followed by a period of denial. The most typical symptoms are listed below. As you will see, the symptoms are different for adults and for infants.

Symptoms in adults  It might be time to consult a hearing care professional if you, or someone you know, are experiencing one or more of the following problems: • People seem to be mumbling • You have to strain to hear when someone talks or whispers • You have difficulty hearing someone call from behind or from another room • You need to watch a speaker's lips more closely to follow conversation • Following a conversation is difficult when you're in a group of people, for example at a meeting, at church, or during lectures • You have to turn up the volume on the TV or radio • You have problems hearing clearly on the telephone • You have difficulty hearing at the theatre, cinema, or other entertainment venues • You find it hard to hear in noisy environments, for example in a restaurant or in a car • You have begun to limit your social activities due to difficulty hearing and communicating • Family, friends, or colleagues mention that they often have to repeat themselves

Symptoms in infants and young children  These are some of signs of a hearing loss in an infant: • Failure to engage in age-appropriate communication (in many cases incorrectly interpreted as a developmental delay) • Failure to react to sudden, loud sounds • Failure to turn his or her head towards sounds, especially soft sounds • Inability to locate a sound • Recurrent ear infections • Inability to respond when called from another room or from behind • Delayed and/or inappropriate speech and language understanding • Delayed and/or inappropriate speech production