student trying to hear

5 Signs of Hearing Loss

Robert Weissman, Au.D., B.C.A., CCC-AHearing Loss

Robert Weissman, Au.D., B.C.A., CCC-A

Hearing loss is serious business. Unlike vision loss that can often be corrected with eyeglasses, once your hearing begins to fail, you can’t easily restore hearing to its original state.

That’s why it is strongly recommended you protect your hearing by using noise-reducing headphones, earphones, and earplugs and avoiding loud, persistent sounds.

If you are already experiencing hearing loss, it’s important to continue to protect your hearing and see an audiologist or hearing aid specialist. The Dr. Hear, California Hearing Center has helped many patients improve quality of life.

There are common signs of hearing loss. Today we’re looking at 5 symptoms of hearing loss to help you recognize hearing problems before they negatively impact your quality of life.

1. You Hear People Speaking But Don’t Understand the Words – Hearing Loss Your eyes and ears don’t lie. If you see people speaking and hear sounds coming from their mouths but can’t clearly understand what they are saying, you likely have hearing loss.

2. You Regularly Ask People to Repeat What They Just Said – Hearing Loss This one is closely related to the first hearing loss symptom. If you’re asking people to repeat their words, you may have hearing loss. Most people (besides teenagers) don’t mumble. If you can’t hear the words people are saying, your ears need help and learning to read lips is NOT the answer.

3. You Play the TV, Radio or Music Louder Than Necessary – Hearing Loss This one is easy to diagnose: when people enter a room where you’re watching TV or listening to music, do they immediately turn down the volume? If this sounds like a familiar situation, you may have a serious hearing loss. Increasing the volume may make it easier to hear, but it may be driving the people around you nuts. It’s time to call an audiologist for a hearing test.

READ: What to Expect in a Hearing Test

4. You No Longer Hear Dogs Bark, Birds Chirp or the Wind Blow – Hearing Loss Whether you live in a city or the countryside, our world is filled with constant and satisfying sounds. The roar of a distant crowd at a football game. The sound of rain on your rooftop. The wind blowing through the trees. These can all be immensely enjoyable sounds. Yet if you’re suffering from hearing loss, you may be missing more than you might imagine. A hearing evaluation can help reveal how your hearing has changed over time.

5. You Miss Phone Calls or the Doorbell Ringing – Hearing Loss Hearing loss can lead to isolation as you avoid restaurants and other social settings where it may be difficult to hear. But if your hearing loss is severe, you may be missing one-on-one visits to your home simply because you can’t hear a friend knocking on your door or ringing the doorbell. And though you can set a cell phone to vibrate, hearing loss may be causing you to miss phone calls when your phone isn’t at your side.

Schedule a Hearing Test

Hearing loss can be treated. Don’t delay and miss out on conversations and the social events that make life enjoyable.

California Audiologist Dr. Robert Weissman offers the best hearing aids in California. A licensed audiologists Dr. Robert Weissman can diagnose hearing loss and recommend hearing aids or assistive listening devices that can immediately enhance your quality of life.