Your workplace has decided to promote teamwork and collaboration by opening up the office floor plan. But this new arrangement has become difficult for you. Not because you miss the privacy of cubicle walls, but because the increased noise makes it difficult to follow conversations.
The inability to follow along with conversations in noisy environments frequently serves as an early indicator of hearing loss, in spite of conventional hearing exams yielding normal outcomes. You still may have trouble discerning conversations even with “Normal” hearing.
The complexity of speech perception
Speech comprehension is a complex cognitive task that involves significant brainpower. Distinguishing speech from background noise and focusing on particular voices amongst a cacophony of sounds demands optimal hearing abilities.
As hearing begins to decline, the brain encounters challenges in separating and processing speech signals amongst competing sounds. Consequently, settings like bustling offices or crowded restaurants become mentally exhausting.
How to identify the early signs of hearing loss
Early signs of hearing loss manifest in a variety of ways:
- When in loud settings, conversations are hard to understand.
- Social isolation.
- The brain needs to work extra hard to comprehend speech causing increased mental tiredness.
Hearing loss examinations
Detecting such difficulties can be tricky, particularly when traditional diagnostics suggest normal hearing. However, researchers are exploring innovative tests to identify early stages of hearing loss:
- Monitoring Electrical Signals: In this test, a device tracks the electrical EEG signals transmitted by your ears to your brain. If these signals change in a certain way while you’re in a crowded or loud setting, that could be a strong indication of some problems with your hearing.
- The Eye Test: A special pair of glasses is used in this test. These glasses can monitor the movement and dilation of your pupils. If you’re concentrating a little harder than normal your pupils will behave in a specific 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.
These tests, in conjunction with personal observations, aim to identify hearing issues at their nascent stages, aiding early intervention.
What are the advantages of early detection?
Discovering even slight hearing loss early has two substantial advantages.
- Cognitive decline related to untreated hearing loss can be prevented with early detection.
- It alleviates aggravation by providing clarity about the challenges of being in settings like open office plans.
Consider finding help if you’re having trouble understanding speech even with “normal” hearing.
Total mental function and auditory health will be improved by early diagnosis. Give us a call today and let us help you with any hearing loss you may have.