• The TV gets louder and friends and family complain about the volume.
• They don’t hear the microwave when it beeps, or the timer on the stove.
• They don’t notice they’ve left their directional signal on because they don’t hear it.
• They don’t respond when spoken to.
• They lean in closer to people who are talking to them, often leading with one ear.
• They only seem to notice they are being spoken to if they are facing the person speaking.
• They give the wrong answers to questions.
• They frequently ask a question or introduce a topic that has just been discussed by others close by.
• They appear to have “selective hearing”.
• They smile and go along with what has been said but clearly aren’t following along.
• They stop attending social activities or events
• They have difficulty understanding young people, children, women, or others who are soft spoken.
• They are startled frequently, saying “I didn’t hear you come in”.
• They say “What?” a lot.

When you have a hearing loss, the effort of listening becomes much more stressful and causes some people to experience anxiety or even high blood pressure. Often, people with hearing loss withdraw from social activities and thus, experience a loss of social connections and reduced interaction with others. Folks may become isolated or even depressed as a result. Research studies show that increased hearing loss results in reduced earning potential. A January 16, 2012, New York Times article quoting sources from Johns Hopkins University Center on Aging and Health and the National Institute on Aging reported that with every ten decibel decrease in hearing, the risk of Alzheimer’s or dementia increases by twenty percent.

“Social Connectedness” is a term to describe the social interactions and relationships people maintain. This is considered the most important factor in our overall health. When social connections and interactions decline, ALL aspects of health decline. The most important sense for maintaining social connectedness, is good hearing. “Blindness separates people from things, deafness separates people from people.”-Helen Keller

Hearing is often our most neglected sense. Perhaps that is because it is the one we can’t control or choose when to use it or because you can’t look at someone and know how well they hear. Regardless of the reason, maintaining good hearing is vital to all aspects of our being.

Even mild hearing loss has an impact on communication, occupation and recreation. Everyone should have regular hearing evaluations to document their hearing levels and thus have a baseline by which to compare future evaluations to.

There are 3 types of hearing loss:

• Sensorineural
• Conductive
• Mixed 

Sensorineural hearing loss is the type people have 80% of the time. This type of hearing loss can only be helped with hearing instruments. Some aspects of sensorineural hearing loss may indicate that further medical care is warranted.

Conductive hearing loss is often medically treatable by your physician. However, your physician doesn’t know if you have a treatable hearing loss until after you have an evaluation by an Audiologist. Only an Audiologist has the expertise to evaluate properly for this type of hearing loss.

Mixed hearing loss is a combination of both types. If your hearing evaluation demonstrates this type of hearing loss, then you will most likely need to get medical treatment first (to resolve the conductive component) and then return to your audiologist for care for the sensorineural component.

The importance of having a qualified Audiologist conducting the evaluation is in identifying when a condition requiring medical follow up is present and making sure that treatment is obtained BEFORE hearing instruments are purchased.