Your workplace recently embraced the trend of open-office floor plans, promoting collaboration and teamwork. But this new arrangement has become challenging for you. It’s because the elevated noise is making it difficult to follow along with conversation and not because you miss the privacy of cubical walls.
Even if mainstream hearing tests indicate completely 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.
Substantial brain power is required to undertake the complex task of speech comprehension. Distinguishing speech from background noise and focusing on specific voices amongst a cacophony of sounds demands optimal hearing abilities.
As hearing begins to go, the brain faces difficulties in separating and processing speech signals amongst competing sounds. Because of this, it becomes mentally fatiguing to be in loud environments like restaurants and bustling offices.
How to recognize the early signs of hearing loss
Here are a number of ways that early hearing loss can manifest:
- Problems understanding conversations in noisy environments.
- The brain needs to work extra hard to comprehend speech leading to increased mental fatigue.
- Distraction and decreased engagement in social interactions.
Hearing loss examinations
Uncovering such challenges can be challenging, especially when conventional diagnostics suggest normal hearing. Here are a couple of tests being formulated by scientists to identify hearing loss in its early stages:
- Monitoring Electrical Signals: The electrical signal transmitted from your ears to your brain is tracked by an EEG in this test. It will be a strong sign that you’re having some hearing trouble if these signals change in a particular way when you’re in a crowded place.
- The Eye Test: For this diagnostics, you wear a special set of glasses. The movement and dilation of your pupils can be tracked with these glasses. If your pupils react in a specific way, it suggests that you’re concentrating a bit harder than normal. But it could be a sign that you’re straining to hear if this happens in a loud setting.
Early intervention will be possible if these tests, combined with personal observation, are able to detect hearing issues in their very early stages.
The benefits of early detection
Detecting even minor hearing loss early offers two substantial advantages.
- It offers clarity regarding challenges faced in settings like open offices, alleviating potential frustrations.
- Mental decline related to neglected hearing loss can be avoided with early detection.
Consider getting help if you’re having trouble understanding speech even with “normal” hearing.
Total cognitive function and auditory health will be improved by early detection. Schedule a hearing test today and explore solutions right for you.