Your workplace recently adopted the trend of open-office floor plans, promoting collaboration and teamwork. But this new setup has become difficult for you. It’s because the elevated noise is making it hard to follow along with conversation and not because you miss the privacy of cubical walls.
Even if mainstream hearing tests indicate perfectly normal hearing, the inability to hear conversations in noisy environments is frequently an early sign of hearing loss. This indicates that having “normal” hearing doesn’t guarantee the ability to comprehend speech effectively.
Speech comprehension is a complex mental task that demands significant brainpower. Distinguishing speech from background noise and focusing on particular voices amidst a cacophony of sounds requires optimal hearing abilities.
It becomes increasingly demanding for the brain to focus in on speech in loud settings as we get older. As a result, settings like bustling offices or crowded restaurants become mentally exhausting.
How to identify the early signs of hearing loss
Here are a few ways that early hearing loss can manifest:
- The brain has to work extra hard to comprehend speech causing increased mental tiredness.
- When in loud settings, conversations are difficult to make out.
- Distraction and decreased engagement in social interactions.
Hearing loss examinations
It can be particularly difficult to detect these types of difficulties when standard hearing diagnostics appear to show normal hearing. However, scientists are looking at innovative tests to identify early signs of hearing loss:
- The Eye Test: A special pair of glasses is utilized in this test. 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. So if this tends to occur in crowded or loud areas, it could be an indication that you’re having to strain to hear.
- Monitoring Electrical Signals: In this test, a device monitors the electrical EEG signals sent by your ears to your brain. If these signals fluctuate in a certain way while you’re in a crowded or noisy setting, that could be a firm indication of some problems with your hearing.
Early intervention will be possible if these tests, coupled with personal observation, are able to detect hearing problems in their very early stages.
The benefits of early detection
There are two important advantages to early detection.
- It offers clarity with regard to challenges faced in settings like open offices, mitigating potential aggravations.
- Mental decline related to untreated hearing loss can be avoided with early detection.
Consider finding help if you’re having trouble understanding speech even with “normal” hearing.
Overall cognitive function and auditory health will be improved by early diagnosis. Call us today and let us help you with any hearing loss you might have.
