One in six of us have some degree of hearing loss. The main causes are hereditary factors, noise exposure, trauma and ear diseases. And, of course, there is age.
Signs of you're having hearing problems?
- Having the TV on very loud
- Struggling to follow conversations
- Missing phone calls
Symptoms of Severe Hearing Loss
Depending on the cause of hearing loss, you may also have
- Pain in one or both ears
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Ringing in the ears, called tinnitus
- Pressure or fullness in one or both ears
Degrees of Hearing Impairment
- Normal hearing is in the range of 0 to 20 decibels. People with normal hearing are able to make out sounds as faint as human breathing, which measures about 10 decibels.
- Mild hearing loss ranges from 21 to 40 decibels.
- Moderate hearing loss ranges from 41 to 55 decibels.
- Moderately severe hearing loss ranges from 56 to 70 decibels.
- Severe hearing loss is in the range of 71 to 90 decibels.
- Profound hearing loss is greater than 90 decibels. People with severe to profound hearing loss will have trouble hearing speech, although they can make out loud sounds like a truck that backfires or an airplane taking off.
To find out how impaired your hearing is, doctor may order a formal hearing test also known as an audiogram. It can show the degree of your hearing loss by looking at the range of decibels, a measure of loudness you can hear.
Advances in medicine and technology have led to many new treatments for hearing loss. With so many to choose from, how can you know which one is best for you? The choice depends partly on the kind of loss you have.
