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Signs & Symptoms of Hearing Loss

  • Noise in the ears (ringing, humming, buzzing, hissing)

  • Speaking too loudly or too quietly

  • Difficulty understanding speech in background noise, such as in restaurants

  • Frequently asking others to repeat themselves

  • The need to turn up the volume on your cell, TV, or radio

  • Changes in behavior like avoiding social settings because following conversations can be exhausting and frustrating

  • Complaining that everyone mumbles

  • Sensitivity to loud sounds​

Tinnitus

  • The most common cause of tinnitus is excessive noise exposure.

  • Approximately 90% of those with tinnitus also have hearing loss. A person will generally notice the tinnitus before they realize they have hearing loss.

  • Causes of tinnitus can include hearing loss, noise exposure, medications, ear wax or ear infections, head or neck injuries, Meniere's Disease, jaw joint problems (TMJ, clenching or grinding your teeth), acoustic neuromas, and other chronic conditions such as diabetes, migraines, and autoimmune disorders.

  • For some, tinnitus can cause depression, anxiety, mood swings, and inability to sleep or concentrate.

  • There is no cure for tinnitus. It can, however, be managed with sound therapy, sound generators, and hearing aids.​

  • To learn more about tinnitus, please visit the American Tinnitus Association at www.ata.org 

We don't just hear with our ears;
we hear with our brains.

Your ears and brain work together as a system. When you listen, your brain performs 4 key tasks:

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  1. Orient: The brain constantly uses both ears to orient itself to know what is happening in the environment.

  2. Recognize: The brain depends on its ability to recognize sound to make sense of it.

  3. Focus: The brain uses both ears to focus on what is important, especially in noisy environments.

  4. Separate: The brain separates relevant sounds from competing noise.

EARLY INTERVENTION IS KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS

WITH HEARING AIDS

Prolonged lack of auditory stimulation to the brain makes wearing a hearing aid more difficult. We refer to this process as AUDITORY DEPRIVATION.

 

Think of the ear-to-brain connection as a muscle; if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Due to hearing loss, your ears cannot feed your brain what it needs for speech clarity. With auditory deprivation, your brain gradually loses some of its auditory processing ability, affecting your brain's ability to "understand" what the ears "hear". 

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"Hearing aids don't work!" Does that sound familiar? That typically happens to those who wait too long to get hearing aids. The longer you wait, the more auditory deprivation there is. The more auditory deprivation, the less stimulation to the brain. Getting hearing aids early on in your diagnosis keeps your ear-to-brain connection stimulated so your speech clarity doesn't fall apart. Once your clarity falls apart, you cannot get it back; even with hearing aids. If you want to do well with hearing aids, get them early!

Benefits of Wearing Hearing Aids

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