Your workplace recently embraced the trend of open-office floor plans, promoting cooperation and teamwork. However, you find yourself having difficulties in this new setup. It’s because the increased noise is making it challenging to follow along with conversation and not because you miss the privacy of cubical walls.
The inability to follow conversations in noisy environments frequently serves as an early indicator of hearing loss, despite conventional hearing tests producing normal outcomes. This indicates that having “normal” hearing doesn’t guarantee the ability to comprehend speech effectively.
Substantial brain power is required to undertake the complex task of speech comprehension. Optimal hearing capabilities are needed to distinguish voices in noisy environments.
As hearing begins to decline, the brain faces difficulties in isolating and processing speech signals amongst competing noises. Because of this, it becomes mentally exhausting to be in noisy settings like restaurants and bustling offices.
How to recognize the early signs of hearing loss
Early signs of hearing loss manifest in various ways:
- Difficulty understanding conversations in loud environments.
- The brain has to work extra hard to comprehend speech leading to increased mental exhaustion.
- Social isolation.
Hearing loss examinations
It can be especially difficult to identify these kinds of challenges when standard hearing diagnostics appear to reveal normal hearing. However, researchers are looking into innovative tests to identify early stages of hearing loss:
- Monitoring Electrical Signals: The electrical signal sent from your ears to your brain is tracked by an EEG in this test. If these signals change in a particular way while you’re in a crowded or noisy setting, that could be a strong indication of some problems with your hearing.
- The Eye Test: For this diagnostics, you put on a special pair of glasses. These glasses can monitor the movement and dilation of your pupils. If you’re concentrating a bit harder than usual your pupils will behave in a particular way. But it may be an indication that you’re straining to hear if this occurs in a noisy setting.
These tests, coupled with personal observations, aim to detect hearing problems at their emergent phases, aiding early intervention.
What are the advantages of early detection?
Discovering even slight hearing loss early offers two considerable advantages.
- Dealing with hearing loss quickly prevents cognitive decline related to untreated hearing impairments.
- It reduces aggravation by supplying clarity about the challenges of being in places like open office plans.
Consider getting help if you’re having trouble understanding speech even with “normal” hearing.
Early detection ensures timely intervention, enhancing overall auditory health and mental function. Contact us today and let us help you with any hearing loss you might have.