Your workplace has opted to encourage teamwork and collaboration by opening up the office floor plan. However, you find yourself struggling in this new setup. 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.
The inability to follow conversations in loud environments often acts as an early indicator of hearing loss, despite conventional hearing exams yielding normal outcomes. You still may have trouble discerning conversations even with “Normal” hearing.
The complexity of speech perception
Significant brain power is needed to undertake the complex task of speech recognition. Optimal hearing capabilities are needed to differentiate voices in noisy environments.
It becomes increasingly demanding for the brain to isolate speech in loud settings as we get older. Consequently, settings like busy offices or crowded restaurants become mentally exhausting.
How to identify the early signs of hearing loss
Here are a number of ways that early hearing loss can manifest:
- Difficulty understanding conversations in loud environments.
- Increased mental exhaustion due to heightened concentration required for listening.
- Distraction and decreased engagement in social interactions.
Testing for hearing loss
Uncovering such challenges can be challenging, especially when traditional diagnostics indicate normal hearing. Here are some 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 certain way when you’re in a crowded place.
- The Eye Test: For this diagnostics, you wear a special pair of glasses. The movement and dilation of your pupils can be monitored with these glasses. If your pupils behave in a specific way, it suggests that you’re concentrating a little harder than usual. So if this tends to happen in crowded or loud areas, it could be an indication that you’re having to strain to hear.
Early intervention will be possible if these tests, combined with personal observation, are able to identify hearing problems in their very early stages.
The benefits of early detection
There are two significant benefits to early detection.
- It offers clarity with regard to difficulties faced in settings like open offices, mitigating potential frustrations.
- Addressing hearing loss quickly prevents cognitive decline associated with untreated hearing impairments.
Think about finding help if you’re having trouble understanding speech even with “normal” hearing.
Overall mental function and auditory health will be improved by early diagnosis. Schedule a hearing exam today and look into solutions right for you.