You hear your neighbour say something over the fence. You can tell they are speaking, and you catch a word or two, but the rest seems to slip by. You smile, nod, and hope you answered the right question.
If you often find yourself missing words in conversation, even when the volume seems fine, you are not alone. Many adults notice that they can hear people talking but cannot always make out what is being said.
This article explains what research suggests may be behind this experience, why it often goes unnoticed, and when it may be helpful to speak with an Audiologist.
A Hearing Change Many Canadians Have Not Noticed
Hearing changes often happen so gradually that people do not realize they are happening. According to Statistics Canada, an estimated 54 percent of Canadians aged 40 to 79 have at least mild hearing loss in the high frequency range, and 77 percent of those individuals had not perceived any loss of hearing.
In other words, many people who have a measurable hearing change are not aware of it. They may simply feel that others are mumbling, or that busy places have become more tiring.
Why it can be easy to miss
Statistics Canada researchers note that people and their communication partners may adapt to gradual changes in hearing, so the change can progress unnoticed. The same Health Reports article notes that once hearing loss is suspected, there is often an average delay of seven years or more before a person seeks help.
Hearing Sound vs. Understanding Words
Hearing and understanding are related, but they are not the same thing. You may hear that someone is talking without catching every sound inside their words.
The role of high pitched sounds
Speech includes lower pitched sounds, such as many vowels, and higher pitched sounds, such as s, th, and f. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration consumer article explains that understanding consonant sounds depends on the ability to hear high pitches, and that losing the ability to hear sounds like s and th can make them harder to tell apart.
Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that age related hearing loss most often affects the ability to hear high pitched sounds, while the ability to hear low pitched sounds is often not affected. This may help explain why speech can seem loud enough but still unclear.
Why words can blend together
Consider the words fan, tan, and pan. The vowel sound is the same in each. The difference is in the first consonant. If that sound is hard to hear, the words may start to sound alike, and the listener has to rely on context to fill in the gap.
Common Signs to Watch For
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, common symptoms of age related hearing loss include other people’s speech sounding mumbled or slurred, trouble hearing high pitched sounds, and trouble understanding conversations, often when there is background noise. You may also notice:
- Asking people to repeat themselves more often
- Finding some voices easier to follow than others
- Turning the TV or radio up higher than family members prefer
- Feeling tired after social gatherings
- Answering a question that was slightly different from the one asked
Experiencing one or more of these does not confirm a hearing change, but it may be a reason to have your hearing assessed.
Why Busy Places Can Be Harder
Background noise can cover the soft, high pitched sounds that help separate one word from another. Cleveland Clinic notes that people with age related hearing loss may have trouble understanding what people are saying in noisy places, like crowded rooms and restaurants.
For many people in Durham Region, that might mean a busy restaurant in Whitby, a family dinner in Ajax, or a crowded community event in Oshawa.
Simple Strategies That May Help
While you consider next steps, these communication strategies may make conversations easier:
- Face the person who is speaking, in good lighting
- Reduce background noise when possible, such as turning off the TV
- Choose quieter seating in restaurants, away from the kitchen or speakers
- Ask people to rephrase, rather than repeat, when you miss something
- Use captions on TV and video calls
What a Hearing Assessment Involves
A hearing assessment with an Audiologist typically looks at both how well you hear tones and how well you understand speech. Cleveland Clinic describes pure tone testing, where you listen to sounds through headphones, as a common test used to assess age related hearing loss. An assessment at Advanced Hearing Ontario may include:
- A conversation about the situations where you notice difficulty
- An examination of your ears
- Testing across a range of pitches
- Speech testing, which may include listening in background noise
- A review of your results and a discussion of possible next steps
If your results show a hearing change, your Audiologist can discuss options with you. For some people, this may include hearing aids, which can be adjusted to support the specific pitches that are harder to hear. Each person’s needs and results are different.
Book a Hearing Assessment in Durham Region
If you have noticed that you are missing words in conversation, it may be worth having your hearing checked. Advanced Hearing Ontario has clinics in Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, and Oshawa.
Visit our Locations page to find the clinic nearest you and book an appointment with an Audiologist.
Sources
- Statistics Canada: Unperceived Hearing Loss Among Canadians Aged 40 to 79 (The Daily, 2019)
- Statistics Canada, Health Reports: Unperceived Hearing Loss Among Canadians Aged 40 to 79
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Sound Advice About Age Related Hearing Loss
- Johns Hopkins Medicine: Age Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis)
- Cleveland Clinic: Presbycusis (Age Related Hearing Loss)