Are you concerned about hearing loss for yourself or a loved one?

People don’t always notice they have hearing loss because it is not physically painful or visible, and happens gradually. Here is a list of some symptoms to watch for:

• You often ask others to repeat themselves.
• It is particularly difficult to understand conversations when there is background noise.
• You can hear everything; you just can’t understand it anymore.
• It often seems as though others are mumbling when they speak to you.
• You have to pay attention to people’s lip movements and expressions to understand what they are saying.
• You feel frustrated trying to communicate in group situations.
• You have trouble hearing children and women.
• You turn up the TV or radio louder than others prefer.
• You are beginning to limit or modify your social activities.
• You find it difficult to identify which direction sounds are coming from.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association created the following self-test to help people determine if they have hearing loss. Take this self-test to find out if you would benefit from a visit to a hearing professional.

1. Do you have a problem hearing over the telephone?
       Yes   No
2. Do you hear better in one ear than the other when you are on the telephone?
       Yes   No
3. Do you have trouble following the conversation when two or more people are talking at the same time?
       Yes  No
4. Do people complain that you turn the TV volume up too high?
       Yes  No
5. Do you have to strain to understand conversation?
       Yes  No
6. Do you have trouble hearing in a noisy background?
       Yes  No
7. Do you have trouble hearing in restaurants?
       Yes  No
8. Do you have dizziness, pain or ringing in your ears?
       Yes  No
9. Do you find yourself asking people to repeat themselves?
       Yes  No
10. Do family members or co-workers remark about your missing what has been said?
        Yes  No
11. Do many people you talk to seem to mumble (or not speak clearly)?
        Yes  No
12. Do you misunderstand what others are saying and respond inappropriately?
        Yes  No
13. Do you have trouble understanding the speech of women and children?
        Yes  No
14. Do people get annoyed because you misunderstand what they say?
        Yes  No

If you answered yes to more than two of the previous questions, you should have your hearing evaluated further.