Do you find yourself struggling to make out works or follow what’s being said during work meetings or while out dining with friends somewhere like Second Street American Bistro in Williamsburg?
If you have hearing loss, speech recognition can become much more difficult. The good news is that hearing aids can help!
How Does Hearing Loss Affect Speech Recognition?
Speech sounds are made up of different frequencies, which makes them more complex, and in turn, harder to hear. This is in part because as we get older, we tend to lose our ability to hear higher-frequency sounds. Since many consonant sounds are at a higher frequency, it can make words harder to understand. You may start to feel like people are constantly mumbling or find yourself asking others to repeat what they just said frequently. Similarly, your spouse or children may express frustration that you’re not paying attention to them or that you often forget something they already told you.
This is one of the reasons why hearing loss can put such a strain on relationships and even cause people who are struggling to hear to begin to withdraw from social situations where they might experience frequent misunderstandings.
Hearing Aids Can Help You Communicate
Thankfully, by treating your hearing loss with hearing aids, you can improve your ability to recognize speech and communicate with others. Depending on your particular model, they have the ability to do some or all of the following:
- Amplify voices in loud environments while suppressing distracting background noises
- Improve your ability to understand sounds at high and low frequencies
- Make speech sounds clearer
- Tune out ambient noise
- Automatically adjust your hearing aid program based on whether your current environment is loud or quiet
Not only does improved communication make your life easier, but it makes it better as well. Our connections with others bring us joy and improve both our mental and physical health. Additionally, research has shown that people with hearing loss report both better speech recognition in noisy environments and a better overall quality of life after being fitted with hearing aids.
Schedule A Hearing Test
If you or your loved ones have noticed a change in your hearing ability, don’t delay in getting checked out and finding the right treatment for you. To speak with an expert or schedule an appointment for a hearing test, contact Hampton Roads ENT ~ Allergy today.