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Managing Early Hearing Loss

Communication tactics and practical options to help you stay connected and enjoy every conversation.
Taking a pro-active approach to your hearing difficulties now will result in a better long-term outcome — the sooner hearing loss is addressed, the better the communication result.
Tinnitus and cognitive

I’ve started noticing difficulties — what next?

If you have started to notice some difficulty understanding speech clearly in some situations the first step is to have a full audiological evaluation. This will determine whether you have some degree of hearing loss. Some people have communication difficulties, but no measurable hearing loss. However, it is important to establish a baseline.

Taking a pro-active approach to your difficulties now will result in a better longterm outcome. Too many people wait until they have serious difficulty before taking any steps to investigate what is happening with their hearing/communication. By the time they do take action, they may have had many years of reduced hearing and have probably developed bad habits in coping with the loss. These can include avoiding social situations or frequently asking others to repeat speech.

If hearing loss is left for many years, significant help re-adjusting to the normal sounds of life is required. Professional help at this stage can be time consuming and expensive

General tactics

Communication tactics are used to adjust the communication situation to suit individual needs. Successful development of communication tactics can result in a person with a hearing loss, or hearing difficulties, being able to join in and enjoy the conversation.

People develop their own tactics to suit their personality. Some will feel more comfortable telling others that they have a hearing loss. It is not always required but can help others understand why you’re having difficulty.

Here are some general tactics for you to try:

  • Suggest ways others can help you understand, such as speaking slower, looking at you when talking, making sure their mouth is visible while talking to you, reducing background noise levels during conversation.

  • Positive reinforcement is always appreciated. Let people know that what they have done has helped your communication.
  • Ask questions that require a yes or no answer.
  • Ask for the information you need rather than a full repeat (e.g “What did you say we’re having for dinner?” instead of “What did you say?”).

What are the options?

There are some positive steps to be taken at the early stage of hearing/communication difficulties. Before any of these options are investigated a full hearing test is essential.
Option 1: Improve your listening skills
As we get older (over 30), we lose some of our ability to process speech accurately in difficult listening situations. This can happen independently of any loss of hearing, but it happens more rapidly when hearing loss is present.
Option 2: Hearing enhancers
Many of our clients have found a small amount of amplification of soft high frequency sounds gives them great assistance in managing more difficult listening situations (for example, restaurants or meetings). This can be achieved by using small behind-the-ear devices.
Option 3: Do both!
Some people find that improving their listening skills and using mild amplification gives the best result.
Option 4: Do nothing
Do you really want to continue with the problems that you have already noticed? If you decide to accept this reduction in your quality of life, we recommend you come back for a review of your hearing and communication needs in 12 months.

What does the research say?

We know that uptake of hearing aids by those with a mild hearing loss is low. Much of this is the fault of the audiologist, with 50% of clients with a mild hearing loss not being offered hearing aids as a solution for their communication difficulties.
Those who are fitted with hearing aids for a mild hearing loss have a very high usage rate.
Sophisticated hearing aid technology does not benefit those with a mild loss like it does those with a more significant degree of hearing loss. “Basic” (cheaper) aids can be suitable for those with mild loss, providing good benefit.
The sooner an individual’s hearing loss is treated the better the long-term communication outcome.

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