The ageing process naturally affects your hearing, but other factors can have subtle or sudden effects. It’s a good idea to keep track of these changes, but we understand that it is not always easy to recognise hearing loss symptoms or to know what type of hearing loss you might have.
The first sign of presbycusis often appears when a person begins to feel uncomfortable with a conversation in a noisy environment, such as a restaurant or at a family meal. When the sound of the telephone or the television appear to be too low, this too can be a sign of hearing loss. Presbycusis can also be manifested by distorted sounds and misinterpreted words.
Presbycusis is, in any case, not to be taken lightly. It can make daily life much more complicated, presenting inconveniences and obvious risks, but can also be at the root of a decline in the frequency of social activities enjoyed.
People with presbycusis are not deaf as such. They continue to hear bass sounds, but high-pitched sounds are hard to distinguish. This is especially true for childish and feminine voices, whispers and some ‘whistling’ consonants (S, Z, CH, V, F). A person suffering from presbycusis symptoms will also have more trouble distinguishing reverberant sounds and will complain more often about tinnitus.
It is best to take action on your presbycusis and consider hearing aids. This allows you to adapt faster and enjoy increased listening comfort while slowing the progression of hearing loss and maintaining the cognitive functions of the brain.
