Your workplace has chosen to promote teamwork and cooperation by opening up the office floor plan. However, you find yourself having difficulties 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.
Even if standard hearing tests indicate completely normal hearing, the inability to hear conversations in noisy settings is often an early sign of hearing loss. This suggests that having “normal” hearing doesn’t guarantee the ability to comprehend speech effectively.
The complexity of speech perception
Speech comprehension is a complex mental process that involves considerable brainpower. Optimal hearing abilities are needed to distinguish voices in loud environments.
As hearing begins to go, the brain faces challenges in isolating and processing speech signals amidst competing noises. Because of this, it becomes mentally exhausting to be in noisy environments like restaurants and busy offices.
Recognizing hearing loss when it’s in its early stages
Here are a few ways that early hearing loss can manifest:
- Social isolation.
- The brain needs to work overtime to comprehend speech causing increased mental fatigue.
- When in noisy settings, conversations are hard to understand.
Hearing loss examinations
Detecting such difficulties can be challenging, particularly when conventional diagnostics indicate normal hearing. Here are a couple of 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. If these signals change in a specific way while you’re in a crowded or loud setting, that could be a strong indication of some issues with your hearing.
- The Eye Test: A special set of glasses is utilized in this test. These glasses can monitor the movement and dilation of your pupils. If you’re concentrating a bit harder than usual your pupils will react in a particular way. So if this tends to occur in crowded or noisy areas, it could be a sign that you’re having to strain to hear.
These tests, in conjunction with personal observations, aim to detect hearing issues at their emergent phases, aiding early intervention.
What are the advantages of early detection?
Detecting even minor hearing loss early offers two considerable advantages.
- It reduces frustration by providing clarity about the difficulties of being in settings like open office plans.
- Addressing hearing loss quickly prevents mental decline related to neglected hearing impairments.
Consider finding help if you’re having difficulty understanding speech even with “normal” hearing.
Overall mental function and auditory health will be improved by early detection. Contact us today and let us help you with any hearing loss you might have.