You don’t suddenly lose your hearing one morning when you wake up. Hearing loss happens in degrees for most people, particularly when it comes to aging. Age-related hearing loss affects about one in three people in this country. Often, the change isn’t even recognized until after the age of 75. You might not detect the trouble immediately even though some signs show up earlier.

Early hearing loss has gradual and subtle signs. Recognizing them as soon as possible is essential to slow down the progression of hearing loss or other health problems related to hearing loss. You can’t recognize the signs if you don’t know what they are, though. You may have hearing loss if you have any of these eight barely noticeable indicators.

1. Ringing in The Ears

Okay, this isn’t exactly a subtle sign, but people tend to ignore it unless it’s distracting. Tinnitus, the medical term for the ringing, is a typical indication of hearing loss.

The ringing can be periodic and only act up when triggered. Maybe the ringing only takes place when your tired or in the morning for example.

It’s crucial that you don’t neglect tinnitus because it is an indication that something is happening with your body. It may be hearing loss, but it may also be a sign of high blood pressure, circulatory problems or trauma. If you want to know for sure, you will need to consult your doctor.

2. Talking on The Phone is Stressful

It’s not hard to make excuses for phone problems like:

• My phone is old.
• It’s a new phone, and I’m just not used to it yet.
• I dropped my phone in water or on the ground.

Think about why you dread using our phone. Get someone else to test the phone for you if the volume is all the way up and you still can’t hear it. If you can’t hear the conversation but they can then you have a hearing issue.

3. It Seems As if Everyone Mumbles Now

It used to be only the kids, but recently, the lady on the TV news, your neighbor, and your spouse all have taken to muttering when they speak to you. Could it really be true that all of a sudden everyone in your life has poor enunciation.

The more likely answer is the way you hear words is changing. Mumbling or dropped off consonants such as “S” or “T” is one of the first indications that your hearing is changing.

4. What Did You Say?

Only after someone calls you out for saying “what?” a lot do you begin to realize that you can’t hear conversations as well anymore. Usually, the first to recognize you have hearing loss are people close to you like coworkers or family members. If someone says something about it, pay attention.

5. Some People You Hear Fine But Others Not so Much

Perhaps when you are having a chat with the neighbor everything sounds okay but when his wife joins in you can’t understand a word. It’s a common sign of sensorineural hearing loss or damage to the nerves that send electrical messages to the brain.

Her voice isn’t as clear because it’s higher pitched. Your daughter or grandchild may present the same issue. Even when you are in normal situations, something as simple as trying to hear the sound of an alarm clock ar a microwave can make things difficult. Those sounds are also high pitched.

6. Going Out Used to be Much More Fun

Worse yet are the people who actually mumble. Also, being in noisy places makes comprehending what people say a big challenge. It becomes impossible to hear anything when you are at dinner and people start chatting around you or the AC comes on.

7. You Are More Tired Than Usual

It’s can be exhausting struggling to comprehend what people are saying. You are more exhausted than normal because your brain is working harder to manage what it hears. You may even notice changes in your other senses. What’s left for your other senses when your brain is working at 110 percent of its energy to understand words? It’s time to have your ears tested if your eye examination came back okay.

8. You Can’t Hear The TV

It is easy to blame the TV or the service provider when you have to keep cranking up the volume, but if this is happening all the time, perhaps it’s time for a hearing test. It can be tough to hear the dialog on TV shows when you suffer from loss of hearing. For example, when the background music is playing, it makes everything sound unclear. How about the other sounds in the room like the AC or the ceiling fan? If the volume keeps going up, then your hearing may be failing.

The good news is all you need to do to know for sure is a professional hearing examination. If it turns out your hearing is declining, hearing aids will get things back to normal.