Hearing is perhaps the most valuable sensation as it is the one that helps us communicate with the people around us, our family and friends, and generally perceive the sounds from our environment. Whilst we associate hearing loss with age, it can also affect the younger generations for a number of reasons.

Pretending to hear. Have you ever done it in a social situation? You wouldn't be alone in it, but it's not something that's going to help you. When you can't keep up with a conversation due to hearing loss, you may choose to pretend to hear what another person is saying instead of being honest: it can be embarrassing to some to admit that they can't hear, so they simply don't admit it.

Do you find yourself asking people to repeat what they’ve just said to you? It might be a sign that you are experiencing hearing loss. There are some telltale signs if you are worried about your ear health.

Typically, finding yourself missing out on a conversation in a noisy room or missing your parcel delivery because you didn’t hear the knock at the door are strong indications that your hearing health might be degrading. However, there could be a variety of explanations for any of these situations that don’t relate to hearing loss. When you are lost in thoughts, it’s not uncommon to cut yourself off from any surrounding sounds. But it doesn’t mean you are going deaf! Similarly, if you are tired or you’ve got blocked sinuses, it can also affect your hearing without having lasting consequences. 

Most people take their hearing for granted until they experience a hearing loss. Hearing health is the ability to hear, understand and communicate with others. It’s more than just having sound coming into your ears. Your hearing health depends on many things, such as the health of your ears, your ability to understand speech and how well you adapt to changes in your hearing.