Hearing loss is a condition affecting over three million Australians or one in every six people.
Hearing loss can occur at any age but is more prominent with old age or those who work in loud environments such as construction. Around half of those over the age of 60 experience some form of hearing loss and 3 out of 4 of those over the age of 70 experience hearing loss.
Unless caused by a medical problem, hearing loss usually starts very gradually. It might not be noticed by the sufferer or those around them for years. This is because even with normal hearing you don’t hear perfectly in all situations.
Once established though, hearing difficulties can quickly begin to affect many areas of your life including your self-confidence and your relationships.
What Are The Signs Of Hearing Loss?
- Having difficulty understanding what people say when there are other sounds in the background.
- Hearing words incorrectly and asking for repeats or volume to be raised.
- Difficulty hearing soft or distant speech or if the speaker has an accent.
- Soft noises may be missed.
- Unable to hear environmental noises, like bird signing or dogs barking.
- Not hearing sounds around you like phones ringing, doorbells and alarm signals.
- Frequently turning up the TV or radio.
Degrees of Hearing Loss
Mild
The ability to hear speech but it’s not loud or clear enough, soft sounds may be missed and the volume on TV is turned up a little louder than usual.
Moderate
During conversations speech sounds unclear or soft and environmental sounds may be missed, the volume on the TV is quite loud to very loud so much so that it can be heard at the front door.
Sever
Unable hear speech unless it is shouted, unable to hear most environmental sounds and often cannot get the volume on the TV loud enough to understand.
Profound
The ability to only hears loud vibrations mostly from low-frequency sounds. Unable to hear voices, environmental sounds or the TV at all.
If you think you or a loved one may have a hearing loss our advice would be to get a free hearing checked.
