You might notice the 1 or 2 times you or perhaps a parent or loved one doesn’t hear something, but there is probably much more that you or the loved one is not hearing and don’t really realize it.

Hearing loss is rarely brought on suddenly.  It’s typically a gradual process and over time it’s hard to realize the change from one year to the next or several years to the next.  You might start having trouble hearing whispers but perhaps you haven’t realized that you don’t hear a lot of birds while you are outside or maybe you don’t hear that hum of the refrigerator anymore or the dishwasher running.  Perhaps you also mishear words or miss hearing some words altogether. That may just seem like small details or maybe the hum of the refrigerator annoyed you, but it does have larger implications.  Perhaps you are also having trouble hearing traffic, or maybe you can’t hear a call for help from a distance or maybe you won’t hear that important phone call while it’s ringing from the other room. That hearing loss you are brushing off as “not that bad” actually could be enough to cause risks, dangers or larger inconveniences.

So, if you notice you aren’t hearing something, then what other things are you not be hearing?  The infographic below can give you some indication of the hearing loss you might have.

Click to Enlarge

YOU KNOW THE POTENTIAL HEARING LOSS LEVEL, NOW WHAT?

If you believe you or a loved one falls somewhere in the moderate to severe category we highly recommend a hearing test to confirm the level of hearing loss.  Our audiologists and clinicians might find medical reasons for your hearing loss or might recommend a hearing aid to improve your quality of life and minimize potential dangers and risks.

If you believe you or a loved one fall in the mild level then we also recommend a hearing test, but only to document a baseline of where your hearing is now to track your hearing and potential hearing loss through the years. As well, there are a number of products that aren’t hearing aids but can amplify sound or have noise cancelling technology to help improve your hearing in certain situations amongst other features such as streaming music, listening to TV or taking phone calls.  We may also want to discuss ear protection to minimize hearing loss over time, especially if you or the loved one is exposed to moderate to loud noise for long periods of time.

If you want to examine this further we also offer our:

I Might Have Hearing Loss section – Click here https://hearingexcellence.ca/may-hearing-loss/

I Know Someone Who Might Have Hearing Loss – Click Here https://hearingexcellence.ca/know-someone-might-hearing-loss/