Your workplace has opted to promote teamwork and collaboration by opening up the office floor plan. However, you find yourself having difficulties in this new configuration. 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.
The inability to follow conversations in loud environments often acts as an early indicator of hearing loss, despite conventional hearing exams producing normal results. 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. Differentiating speech from background noise and focusing on specific voices amongst a cacophony of sounds requires optimal hearing capabilities.
It becomes increasingly challenging for the brain to focus in on speech in noisy settings as we get older. Consequently, settings like busy offices or crowded restaurants become mentally fatiguing.
Recognizing hearing loss when it’s in its early phases
Early signs of hearing loss manifest in various ways:
- Social isolation.
- When in loud settings, conversations are hard to understand.
- Increased mental exhaustion due to heightened concentration needed for listening.
Testing for hearing loss
It can be especially difficult to detect these kinds of challenges when standard hearing diagnostics appear to reveal normal hearing. Here are some tests being developed by researchers to diagnose hearing loss in its early stages:
- Monitoring Electrical Signals: In this test, a device monitors the electrical EEG signals sent by your ears to your brain. It will be a potent sign that you’re having some hearing trouble if these signals fluctuate in a specific way when you’re in a crowded location.
- The Eye Test: For this test, you put on a special set of glasses. These glasses can track the movement and dilation of your pupils. If you’re concentrating a bit harder than normal your pupils will behave in a particular way. So if this tends to occur in crowded or noisy 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 detect hearing problems in their very early stages.
The Advantages of early detection
Discovering even minor hearing loss early has two substantial advantages.
- Dealing with hearing loss quickly prevents cognitive decline related to untreated hearing impairments.
- It alleviates aggravation by providing clarity about the challenges of being in settings like open office plans.
Think about getting help if you’re having difficulty understanding speech even with “normal” hearing.
Early detection ensures timely intervention, enhancing total auditory health and mental function. Schedule a hearing exam today and explore options right for you.