Recognising Hearing Loss
When your hearing starts to deteriorate, which can happen gradually, it can impact your life and the way you interact with others.
Keeping a healthy lifestyle and having periodical hearing checks is the best way to protect your hearing. It’s a good idea to book a free hearing test as an important prevention step for your health and wellness.
When your hearing starts to deteriorate, which can happen gradually or suddenly, it can impact your life and the way you interact with others.
If you have a hearing loss, it will impact your life and the way you interact with others.
The cause of hearing loss
Hearing loss is caused by a variety of factors. We all lose some of our hearing as we age, but it can be a sign of other health problems and you should talk to your health practitioner. Seek immediate help if you have a sudden change in hearing. We can test if it is a mechanical problem in the ear such as fluid behind the eardrum requiring medical treatment, or more commonly it is a loss of nerve endings in the inner ear. Nerve deafness is similar to blindness and even with the best technology we cannot give you perfect hearing, particularly in noise, but most people can expect considerable improvement.
Noise-induced hearing loss, which is responsible for approximately half of all preventable hearing loss cases, is caused by continued exposure to loud noises such as from machines and power tools as well as brief but extremely loud sounds like alarms and fireworks. May be covered under ACC.
People often ignore the signs. Trying to compensate for loss of hearing is frustrating and tiring, and it can affect your behaviour in everyday situations. It is a sensory loss that affects people psychologically and socially.
Hearing Diagnosis
Hearing loss can be easily diagnosed and helped; which will reduce the restrictions imposed on you and allows you to get on with leading a normal life.
If any of the following circumstances apply to you or someone you care about, it would be a good idea to get your hearing tested.
- People say your TV or radio is too loud—and they’re not just talking about the ads
- You do not clearly hear water running or wind rustling through the trees
- You don’t always hear footsteps, or the phone or doorbell when it rings
- Struggle to hear conversations clearly in busy environments such as restaurants
- Finding it hard to focus on conversations, especially when two or more people talk at once
- Having difficulty hearing women’s and children’s voices, or being convinced people mumble
Tauranga Audiology has a range of hearing assessments to suit individual requirements, including a free hearing assessment.
