Symptoms Of Hearing Loss You Should Know About

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of an important fact that has to do with the increase in cases of hearing loss:  more than half of young people are exposed to very dangerous noise levels.

Leisure spaces and, above all, the use of headphones to listen to music at an intensity that exceeds 85 dB leaves small cumulative consequences that, little by little, affect hearing health. This means, among other things, that hearing loss is not only linked to age.

It is also related to life habits and to that basic and essential care for the ears that we should never neglect. Next, we want to delve into this health topic.  We suggest you discover the symptoms that can alert you to hearing loss. Do we take note?

Symptoms that warn of hearing loss

Importantly, hearing loss is gradual. Its progress is so slow that sometimes we are not even aware that we are experiencing small changes.

We were talking a moment ago about the younger population. A first clue of this condition is that we experience more and more tinnitus at a very early age.

Tinnitus or tinnitus appear in a good part of people who listen to music regularly at a high intensity. If you listen from the age of 16, it is common that, once the quarantine arrives, the first and imperceptible notices appear.

10 clues your hearing is shrinking

1. Often times, you don’t quite understand all the words that others are communicating to you. You hear the sound but you can’t quite understand the message clearly.
2. Little by little, you increase the volume of your musical devices or television.
3. When someone calls you from another room, you don’t always hear it.
4. When you are in a group with more people and they talk to each other, you have a hard time hearing or understanding what each other is saying.
5. If you are in a noisy context (a party, a bar, a train) you have difficulty hearing what they say to you.
6. You are beginning to ask for things to be repeated. Something that you did not do before and that is now common.
7. You can no longer hear the  clock ticking or the birds singing outside your house.
8. When someone whispers or speaks to you in a low voice, you cannot hear or understand them.
9. You have continuous headaches, numbness, and weakness. 
10. You start to experience ringing in the ear or recurring pain.

3 keys to taking care of your hearing from today

1. The sound, the lower the better

An 8-hour exposure to sounds of 85 decibels or more leaves sequelae. Likewise, listening to music at 100 dB for 15 minutes is also not recommended.

With this, we do not mean that we should avoid listening to music at high volume at all costs, or flee from those places where the ambient sound exceeds 85 dB. It’s just about keeping a balance. To do this, when you use headphones, try not to exceed 85 dB. Also avoid spending many hours in spaces with intense and persistent noise.

On the other hand, we must also remember that for our hearing it is not good to listen to different types of sound  at the same time (music, voices, blows, the rattle of a train …).

2. Take care of your work environment

Talk to the occupational hazards department of your work and ask if your position complies with the regulations on sound and environmental hygiene.

Wear ear protectors if necessary.

3. Hearing hygiene and medical check-ups

• Take care of your ears when you have the flu or colds.
• Wear earplugs when bathing or swimming.
• Prevent water from entering the outer ear canal of your ear. 
• Never put cotton buds or any other sharp object in your ears.
• It is important that you get regular check-ups: that way you will control the quality of your hearing as much as possible.
• Be very careful with ear infections – they  are the source of many hearing losses.

To conclude, it does not matter that you are young or that you are a mature person with an audition – in your opinion – excellent. You need to take care of it, go to the doctor and undergo some simple audiometry tests.