Symptons of hearing loss

Some signs of hearing loss are:

• People around you seem to mumble
• You often ask others to repeat themselves
• You can hear but cannot understand
• Difficulty following conversations when in groups or where there's background noise
• Children and women's voices are difficult to hear
• Needing to turn up the TV or radio louder
• Cannot hear high pitched sounds such as birds, crickets and bells

Untreated hearing loss can cause embarrassment, social stress, tension and fatigue. It can cause sadness and depression, worry and anxiety, paranoia, emotional turmoil and insecurity and lead to  less social activities. Only 40% of people that have a significant hearing loss seek treatment (Hearing Impairment in an Australian Population, 1998 Centre for Population Studies). However the majority of hearing aid wearers reported significantly improved quality of life including improvements in personal relationships, self-esteem and overall health.