Read the signs

Hearing loss is often gradual and not immediately noticed by the person affected. Sometimes friends or family will notice a person's hearing problems before he or she recognises it. For instance, family members may complain that the person listens to the television or radio too loud or asks them to repeat what they've just said. Or, that the person with hearing loss doesn't answer the telephone or doorbell because they didn't hear it ringing. Although each person may experience symptoms of hearing loss differently, some of the most common symptoms may include:

• Inability to hear people clearly and fully. People may seem to mumble and those experiencing hearing loss may not hear all parts of a conversation. For instance, someone with hearing loss may miss the essence of a story or punch line of a joke that someone just told
• Frequent requests for clarification
• Tendency to stare at people when they are talking in order to make it easier to understand what they are saying
• Fatigue at the end of the day from straining to hear
• Avoidance of social situations because of difficulty in following conversations in noisy environments
• Tendency to bluff when not hearing someone because of the fear of asking them to repeat themselves

If any of these signs are familiar then the next course of action should be to have a full diagnostic hearing assessment to establish the cause and potential remedial action.