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Take our online hearing test
Gain a better understanding of your hearing ability with our FREE online hearing test. Find a quiet spot, plug in your ear buds or headphones and click the link to get started. We will even send you over a copy of the findings. Do remember, this is a screening tool and not a diagnostic measure of your hearing function. Nevertheless, it can help identify potential hearing problems and the need for further hearing assessment.
Hearing loss can be sudden or gradual. It can affect your ability to hear all sounds or just parts of certain sounds. Most often, as we age we lose the ability to hear high frequency phonemes such as "S" "T" "K" "F" "TH". This can interfere with our speech perception and dull our hearing clarity.
Signs of a hearing loss
Signs of a hearing loss may be subtle. Here are some common things to look out for:
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Mishearing speech
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Straining to hear the television or radio
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Reliance on subtitles
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Struggling to hearing in background noise
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Feeling like everyone is "mumbling"
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Ears feel blocked
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Unable to follow conversations in group settings
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Talking loudly
Types of hearing loss
Age-related deafness and noise-induced deafness are the most common causes of hearing loss. Both types involve hair cell and nerve damage within the inner ear, specifically the cochlea and VIII auditory nerve. This is known as sensorineural hearing loss. It is irreversible and is often managed through hearing aids.
Problems with the outer or middle ear such as ear wax blockage, congestion and ear drum perforations can cause conductive hearing loss. These are sometimes treatable.
