Question 1

Mild hearing loss symptoms

Accepted Answer

The symptoms of hearing loss often depend on the degree of hearing loss – how severe it is.

A bird chirping, a dripping tap and other soft sounds are often difficult to hear with mild hearing loss. Other soft daily sounds include people breathing, leaves rustling, people whispering, refrigerators humming, and cats purring.

Although people with mild hearing loss can communicate well in quiet surroundings, in situations with background noise they may confuse words such as those starting with certain consonants (“s”, “f” or “th” sounds). This is because high-frequency speech sounds can be hard to hear clearly, especially in noisy settings.

Question 2

Moderate hearing loss symptoms

Accepted Answer

A phone ringing or the whirring of a fan may go unnoticed with this hearing loss. Other sounds that could be missed include laughter, rain falling and coffee machines brewing. Group discussions are more complicated and tiring to follow.

People with moderate hearing loss have more difficulty hearing and understanding speech at normal conversations levels. Following a conversation requires more effort, and many of the words could be missed or misunderstood – even when it’s quiet. It may not be possible to follow a normal conversation when there’s background noise.

Question 3

Moderate-to-severe hearing loss symptoms

Accepted Answer

Normal conversations are difficult to hear with moderately severe hearing loss, even in quiet situations. Other daily sounds that could be missed include water running, an alarm clock, children playing, a busy street, an electric toothbrush and a washing machine.

People with moderate-to-severe hearing loss struggle to hear in most situations if they don’t have a hearing aid. They often have difficulty understanding speech in most situations and have even more difficulty in noise. TVs and radios are not understandable at normal levels and require louder volume levels.

Question 4

Severe hearing loss symptoms

Accepted Answer

Music and traffic sounds are muffled, and it is a struggle to follow discussions without concentrating hard. Even one-on-one conversations may sound mumbled and indistinct.

People with severe hearing loss will have difficulty with most conversations at normal and moderately loud levels. Speech at loud levels might be understood as long as there is no competing background noise. Other daily sounds that could be missed include a doorbell or telephone, traffic noise, a vacuum cleaner, a toilet flushing, and people working or various office sounds.

Question 5

Profound hearing loss symptoms

Accepted Answer

People with profound hearing loss may not be able to hear speech, and only hear very loud sounds such as a lawn mower, a motorcycle, an ambulance siren or a food blender. Speech at normal levels would not be heard, and even when shouting, the speech might not be audible or understood. Those with profound hearing loss are generally candidates for cochlear implants or may rely on sign language or lip-reading to help them understand speech.

Symptoms of hearing loss

What are signs of hearing loss?

Quick facts about hearing loss symptoms

What are the first signs of hearing loss?

Do you have any symptoms of hearing loss?

Find a hearing care professional

Symptoms of hearing loss at different levels

Mild hearing loss symptoms

Moderate hearing loss symptoms

Moderate-to-severe hearing loss symptoms

Severe hearing loss symptoms

Profound hearing loss symptoms

What level of hearing loss requires a hearing aid?

What does hearing loss sound like?