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Signs of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss can affect any age or population. Unidentified hearing loss in adults can significantly affect quality of life at work, home and in social situations. Speech and language development will be impaired in children with significant hearing loss that is not identified before age 3.
Even though these issues are serious, it's not always the person with hearing loss who notices the problem. Friends and family will often notice it first.
Understanding Hearing Loss
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, approximately 17 percent (36 million) of American adults report some degree of hearing loss. About 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard of hearing.
Signs of hearing loss include:
- Difficulty in understanding speech, especially when there is background noise or when a person is not looking at the speaker. A person may be able to "hear" but not "understand."
- Behavior problems or trouble speaking words to communicate, if the person with hearing loss is a child.
- Difficulty engaging in conversations, especially in groups.
- Avoiding difficult listening environments, such as eating out or going to events with a lot of people or noise.
- Difficulty locating the source of a sound.
- Louder than normal volume on televisions or telephones.
- A sense that people are mumbling.
There are three main types of hearing loss:
- Sensorineural hearing loss is usually permanent and can happen at any time during a person's life. Aging, certain medical conditions, vascular disease, exposure to loud noise, head trauma or a virus can be some reasons for sensorineural hearing loss.
- Conductive hearing loss affects how sound moves through the outer or middle ear. It can be caused by wax in the ear canal, fluid in the middle ear or deformation of the bones in the middle ear. Many times, this can be medically treated.
- Mixed hearing loss occurs when both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss are present. Sometimes only part of this type of hearing loss can be treated.
If you or a loved one is having difficulty hearing, call 216-778-4391 to schedule an appointment.
