The holiday season is a joyful time of year filled with noise and merriment. Being surrounded by familiar, nostalgic holiday music and attending upbeat parties make the season bright. However, if you’re in the beginning stages of hearing loss, you might be missing out on some of the cheer, and you may not even realize it. Hearing loss often comes on slowly, and it’s common for people not to notice the signs right away. Let’s discuss some subtle signs of hearing loss to be aware of.
Holiday Music
One of the first signs of hearing loss is turning the volume up when listening to music or watching TV. This is also the case with holiday music. If you’re turning the music up so loud that people around you complain, it could be a sign of hearing loss.
Another way holiday music could alert you to hearing loss is by distracting you from conversations. In the beginning stages of hearing loss, your brain will struggle to process background noise and filter it out in favor of listening to the person you’re speaking with. Music should be treated like background noise; however, your brain may prioritize focusing on the music because you know your favorite songs by heart—the brain doesn’t have to work as hard to interpret holiday music. Conversation, on the other hand, is very difficult to process.
Conversations
Following conversations and mishearing what people say are well-known signs of hearing loss. This will be an even more noticeable issue during events like holiday parties. If you’re struggling to follow a conversation or find yourself asking people to repeat themselves frequently, that could be a sign of hearing loss.
With hearing loss, the first sounds you lose are usually high-frequency noises. You may struggle to hear children or people with higher-pitched voices. Consonants are typically high-frequency sounds as well, so when speaking to someone, you may only clearly hear the vowel sounds but miss the consonants. This will make everyone sound like they’re mumbling.
Irritability, Frustration or Fatigue that You Can’t Explain
Days of listening to music, attending and planning holiday parties and getting your holiday shopping done will wear you out, but if you’re feeling overly fatigued at the end of the day, hearing loss could also be a culprit. Listening can be exhausting: untreated hearing loss requires a significant amount of mental energy for processing and interpreting sounds. This fatigue can lead to feelings of sleepiness, irritability, or frustration. You may feel this especially after socializing, since, as discussed above, processing conversations is a significant task for the brain.
If you’ve noticed these or any other subtle signs of hearing loss, it may be time to visit a hearing health professional. Call SH Audiology today to book a hearing test and get reconnected to the festive sounds of the season.