Do you find noisy environments more challenging than other people? If so, then it’s possible that you are having issues with your hearing. Changes to hearing are common and they may not always be related to old age. Instead, you could find that your hearing is changing because of exposure to loud noise or even a health issue.

Regardless of the reasons for your changes to your hearing, it’s important to understand some of the key steps that you can take to navigate loud environments more easily. If you notice any changes to your hearing, contact an audiologist to schedule an appointment.

Use Hearing Aids

After you have had your hearing tested, your audiologist might recommend hearing aids. Hearing aids are useful because they will allow you to hear noises more clearly. Certain hearing aids are also available with advanced features. For instance, you can set your hearing aid to accentuate the sound from a particular direction. This means that you can increase the volume of someone who is in front of you or perhaps to the side of you. Hearing aids are also capable of reducing background noise.

In a crowded environment this could include the sound of a lot of different people talking at the same time which might sound like a buzz without much detail to pick out at all. By removing this noise, you will be able to hear individuals talking far more easily.

Speech to Text Apps

Another option worth considering would be a speech to text app. An app like this translates speech into text so that it can be read on a smartphone screen or a similar device. This is incredibly useful if you are finding it a challenge to understand what someone is saying to you in a noisy environment.

Check Your Hearing Aids

It’s possible that you are already wearing hearing aids. If so, then you could still be having difficulties in noisy environments. If that’s the case, then you should get your hearing aids checked by an audiologist to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made for the environments you are in. They might also recommend upgrading your hearing aids to fit your specific hearing needs.

Ask People to Speak Clearly

Finally, you should always ask people to speak as clearly as possible. This does not mean speaking at a louder volume. Instead, you should advise that they need to enunciate as much as possible. One of the benefits of this is that it will make it easier to read lips. Even if you don’t know how to lipread, your brain will do this subconsciously. As such, you could still benefit from someone speaking more clearly to you in a noisy environment.

When navigating a noisy environment these tips should help you understand everything that you need to know when in these situations and provide you with the right level of confidence. Remember, if you are struggling with your hearing, then you should always arrange an appointment with an audiologist.

Tags: background noise, hearing loss prevention tips