Changes in your hearing are not always easy to recognize. They can develop gradually, making it difficult to notice how much your hearing has changed until conversations, phone calls, or everyday sounds become harder to follow.
A hearing evaluation can determine your ability to hear different sounds and whether hearing loss may be affecting your daily life. Testing can also help identify the type and severity of hearing loss and guide your next steps.
If you have noticed changes in how you hear or communicate, here are six signs it may be time to schedule a hearing evaluation.
Resource: my.clevelandclinic.org
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Key Takeaways
- Hearing changes can be gradual and difficult to notice, making a hearing evaluation important.
- Key signs include frequently asking others to repeat themselves and struggling in noisy environments.
- Needing higher volume settings on devices and difficulties during phone conversations also indicate potential hearing issues.
- Tinnitus symptoms like ringing or buzzing in the ears can signal hearing problems and warrant professional assessment.
- If friends or family notice changes in your hearing, it may be time to schedule a hearing evaluation.
Table of contents
- 1. You Frequently Ask People to Repeat Themselves
- 2. Conversations Are Harder in Noisy Places
- 3. You Keep Turning Up the Volume
- 4. Phone Conversations Are Becoming Difficult
- 5. You Experience Ringing or Buzzing
- 6. Friends or Family Notice a Change
- What Happens During a Hearing Evaluation?
- When Should You Get Your Hearing Checked?
- Schedule a Hearing Evaluation
1. You Frequently Ask People to Repeat Themselves
Occasionally missing a word during a conversation is common. Regularly asking people to repeat themselves can signal that certain sounds are becoming harder to hear.
You might notice this problem more when someone speaks softly, talks from another room, or has a higher-pitched voice. Conversations may begin to require more concentration than they once did.
If “What did you say?” has become a regular part of your conversations, a hearing evaluation can provide useful information about your hearing ability.
2. Conversations Are Harder in Noisy Places
Restaurants, family gatherings, stores, and other busy environments can make conversation challenging for anyone. However, regularly struggling to separate speech from background noise may point to hearing difficulties.
You may hear that someone is speaking without clearly understanding their words. Following conversations involving several people can become especially difficult.
These difficulties may lead some people to participate less in social activities when keeping up with conversations becomes tiring or frustrating. Hearing testing can help determine whether hearing loss is contributing to the problem.
3. You Keep Turning Up the Volume
Have family members commented that your television is too loud? Do you regularly turn up the volume on your phone, radio, or other devices? Needing a higher volume than the people around you may indicate that your hearing has changed.
The difference can develop gradually. You may become accustomed to louder settings and not realize how high the volume has become until someone else points it out. A hearing evaluation can establish your current hearing levels and identify whether further assessment is needed.
4. Phone Conversations Are Becoming Difficult
Phone conversations remove many of the visual cues people naturally use during face-to-face communication. Facial expressions and lip movements can provide context that helps you understand what someone is saying.
If you often struggle to understand callers, ask them to repeat themselves, or rely on speakerphone or higher volume settings, you may need to have your hearing checked.
Difficulty hearing on the phone is worth discussing with an audiologist, particularly if it has become a recurring problem.
5. You Experience Ringing or Buzzing
Ringing, buzzing, roaring, or hissing in the ears is commonly known as tinnitus. It may affect one or both ears and can vary considerably from person to person.
Tinnitus does not necessarily mean that you have hearing loss. However, it can occur alongside hearing problems and warrants professional assessment, especially if it persists or is accompanied by noticeable hearing changes.
An audiologist can evaluate your hearing and recommend next steps based on your symptoms and test results.
6. Friends or Family Notice a Change
Sometimes the people around you notice hearing difficulties before you do. A family member might point out that you frequently misunderstand questions, miss parts of conversations, speak more loudly, or keep the television at a higher volume. You might also respond differently because you did not hear exactly what was said. If people close to you have repeatedly noticed these changes, consider discussing them with an audiologist.
What Happens During a Hearing Evaluation?
A hearing evaluation assesses your hearing ability and identifies possible hearing difficulties. Depending on your symptoms and medical history, testing may examine how you hear different tones and speech.
Your results can help an audiologist determine whether you have hearing loss and, if so, its type and degree.
Hearing difficulties can have different causes. Sensorineural hearing loss involves the inner ear or hearing nerve and may be associated with aging, loud noise exposure, injury, certain medications, disease, or inherited conditions. Conductive hearing loss affects the outer or middle ear and may occur when earwax, fluid, infection, or another problem interferes with sound transmission.
When Should You Get Your Hearing Checked?
You don’t need to wait until hearing difficulties significantly interfere with your daily life to schedule an evaluation.
Consider speaking with a hearing specialist if you regularly struggle with conversations, background noise, phone calls, or everyday sounds. Persistent tinnitus or concerns raised by friends and family are also reasons to consider testing.
Sudden hearing loss is different from gradual hearing changes and should receive prompt medical attention.
Schedule a Hearing Evaluation
Hearing changes can be subtle, but understanding what is happening can help you make informed decisions about your hearing health.
Colorado ENT and Allergy provides comprehensive audiology testing and hearing care for patients experiencing hearing concerns. The practice’s audiologists evaluate hearing conditions and can recommend appropriate next steps based on your symptoms and test results.
If any of these signs sound familiar, consider scheduling an appointment with Colorado ENT and Allergy for a professional hearing evaluation.