Do I have a hearing problem?

annodomini

Some films on TV have soundtracks which turning up the volume fails to make intelligible. I wonder if this is because they soundtrack was designed for cinemas and not the small screen. As it is, subtitles are the best solution. When I'm with my family, I think that they speak indistinctly and far too fast, which was not always the case, but I remember how I always had to turn up the TV sound for my late father, I realise that I may be in line for hearing aids. ?

I agree about inappropriate sound balance on films. The recent run of Indiana Jones films on Channel 4 have been especially difficult. We have a TV with built-in speakers which are fine for most things, and an expensive home cinema set up that could blow you our of the window, but neither/both could make the speech louder and the incidental noise/music quieter so that the former was audible above the latter. Come advert time the windows rattled!

I had a hearing test about 18 months ago at Specsavers and they keep pestering me to go back for another one, which I have no plans to do at the moment as in my opinion it is too risky. I am staying at home.
I was advised that I have slight hearing loss, probably only a problem in a noisy pub or restaurant or party, none of which are happening, nor even happened very often before the pandemic , so I decided it was too soon to bother with a hearing aid just yet. Maybe a factor was that this Specsavers was not part of the NHS, as some are, so I would have had to pay.
We bought a sound bar for the TV, but DH has it far too loud for me and the bass is even louder, especially when I have gone up to bed before him. It is the background music and different accents which spoil the sound on TV.

InnocentBystander

MissAdventure

The first rule about having a hearing problem is that it absolutely isn't you.
Its everyone else mumbling.
It's the TV muffling the voices.
It's people talking quietly in another room and expecting you to hear them....

I was in the 'blame the actors' camp until I had a hearing assessment by NHS audiologists at the local hospital. She, the audiologist, did a very thorough set of tests and declared that I had mild to moderate hearing loss and she prescribed modern digital miniature behind the ear hearing aids. When they arrived she tuned them to the profile of my hearing - different each side - so that the boost they provided matched the weaker frequencies of my ears. It was a revelation! Most people who have not had a test or been prescribed aids think they amplify the sound and that, therefore, background noise becomes a problem. This is not the case for me. My hearing on the default setting of the aids is not any louder at all, but it is so much clearer. Before I couldn't differentiate between 'f' and 's' and you don't have to have a ribald sense of humour to think of how that could be difficult! Put pride behind you and give the NHS a go when the heat is off them after the plague. It will cost you nothing, not even for batteries, and you will find that speech really is as clear as you thought it used to be.

I would agree here. My GP told me, pre-Covid to go and have a hearing test at my local opticians, purely because it would be much quicker than waiting for an NHS test. When I had done that she wanted me to take the report to her and if necessary she would refer me to the NHS audiology department. She said the NHS hearing aids are every bit as good as private ones and a damn sight cheaper.

Some films on TV have soundtracks which turning up the volume fails to make intelligible. I wonder if this is because they soundtrack was designed for cinemas and not the small screen. As it is, subtitles are the best solution. When I'm with my family, I think that they speak indistinctly and far too fast, which was not always the case, but I remember how I always had to turn up the TV sound for my late father, I realise that I may be in line for hearing aids. ?

I have noise related hearing loss, not surprising the environments in which I spent my working life.
Got a referral from my doctor. Within an hour of the test, a pair of behind the ear NHS aids had been sey up to cater for my individual problems. Outside the rain was thundering on my umbrella as the grass squelched under my feet!
That was over 15 years ago, and was recently provided with the latest digital aids. Happily, hearing has not deteriorated over the last 5 years, since the last pair of aids.
The volume on TV programmes, and recordings, varies from channel to channel and from programme to programme. The over emphasised and often needless,"background" music is no help. Especially when the actors lower their voices.
OH still does not understand speaking with head in a cupboard, or another room, makes hearing difficult; and that after many years dealing with the deaf!
Some voices / accents are easier than others, and some people speak more clearly than others.
Am loathe to admit defeat and put on the subtitles, but fear that unless something changes it will be necessary.
makes you realise just how wonderful the human body when it first sets out, and before we damage it!

I had a hearing test and was offered a hearing aid but declined as it was only slight. I wish I’d had one now as I understand if you officially need a hearing aid you qualify for a free rail card. Not that I’m travelling anywhere now but I was back then. Even though I only have slight hearing loss I found that, when I was working even the slightest background noise meant that I struggled to hear people speaking on the phone. I have subtitles on all the time now but wonder if it’s making me a bit lazy in that I don’t attempt to hear what people are saying. Of course ear wax can cause minor hearing loss. I know people that have had their ears flushed out say they’re amazed at how their hearing improves, but I don’t think it’s advised now.

Oldbat did you go to your GP for a referral and was that referral to your local hospital? I think I need to be at least tested but not at this time- maybe later when Covid has settled down or better still gone away.

We use subtitles all the time. DH has hearing aids and I’ve waited for 16wks to have a nhs hearing test. I now have confirmed moderate hearing loss and I have to wait for another 2 to 3 months for the hearing aids to be dispensed.

You could try the online hearing test from Specsavers or one of the many others.

It could well be hearing loss but another factor to consider is modern tv’s. The very thin profile of flatscreen TVs means that the speakers are really quite poor compared to older styles. We installed a sound bar and it improved the sound quality a lot.

The downside for us (I don’t know if that applies to all sound bars) is that it has a separate remote control so I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time searching for one or other of the controls.

I have hearing aids, innocentbystander.
I hated them at first; I could hear water rushing through the radiators in the clinic where I got them, then i heard my trousers rustling as i walked home.

Sensory overload! I persevered, but now with wearing a mask, and glasses, it's all too much, and I'm afraid I've left them off since last March.

My theory is that there are two causes.

The first is hearing.
Like it or not, I am sure that this does become less sharp as we age, if only slightly if you are lucky.

The second is about the natural changes that take place in how people speak over time.
When you are young, you naturally absorb all the speaking-styles that you are exposed to. As you age, your ability to do this lessens.

On top of that, you probably have less exposure to the 'latest' ways of speaking (as well as to other forms of English, such as American), so again this reduces your ability to process them.

In other words, the older you get, the harder it becomes to understand how younger people speak.

As I said, it's just my personal theory, and I'm sure bit won't take long for it to be blown out of the water. ☺

Actually, I more often find that I can't tell what is being said in very old films, from the 'fifties or earlier, and I think that is for almost exactly the same reasons - the speaking style is one that I wasn't exposed to as a child (born in the early 'sixties), so my brain can't process it all.

I wonder if others of my generation have the same problem, while the older Gransnetters, who grew up watching those films, still understand them ok?

MissAdventure

The first rule about having a hearing problem is that it absolutely isn't you.
Its everyone else mumbling.
It's the TV muffling the voices.
It's people talking quietly in another room and expecting you to hear them....

I was in the 'blame the actors' camp until I had a hearing assessment by NHS audiologists at the local hospital. She, the audiologist, did a very thorough set of tests and declared that I had mild to moderate hearing loss and she prescribed modern digital miniature behind the ear hearing aids. When they arrived she tuned them to the profile of my hearing - different each side - so that the boost they provided matched the weaker frequencies of my ears. It was a revelation! Most people who have not had a test or been prescribed aids think they amplify the sound and that, therefore, background noise becomes a problem. This is not the case for me. My hearing on the default setting of the aids is not any louder at all, but it is so much clearer. Before I couldn't differentiate between 'f' and 's' and you don't have to have a ribald sense of humour to think of how that could be difficult! Put pride behind you and give the NHS a go when the heat is off them after the plague. It will cost you nothing, not even for batteries, and you will find that speech really is as clear as you thought it used to be.

We switch on subtitles, not that we can’t hear but we find it difficult to follow some conversations, often because of the speed and the way words are run together.

I don't think I've had Covid but I was quite ill at the beginning of 2020 with terrible cough which lasted 3 weeks and was followed by months of feeling very tired and low.
This was before Covid was really recognised for what it is.
Subtitles sound like a good idea when I'm struggling with Tv.
As others have said I have no trouble with News and Documentaries .I wonder if Directors and Actors think mumbling makes the dialogue seem more real?

Have you had a Covid?
It's one of the many delights of long covid aka the gift that keeps on giving.
DH's hearing has gone to pot (it was never that great in the first place) and his eyesight has worsened too.
He is currently watching the football wearing my polka dot Cath Kidston specs

I'm hard of hearing so I use sub titles ALL the time. It revolutionised my TV enjoyment. Try it!
On the phone I always tell the other end about my hearing challenges before we go to far into the conversation. Also, if they are imparting important information I ask them if it's ok to repeat back to them what I "think" I've heard. Works a treat especially if buying insurance policies, speaking to my bank, GP's reception etc. Just need to get into the habit.

Libra I needed sub titles for The Pembrokeshire Murders too.

We use subtitles for virtually all dramas. Even if you think you're hearing the actors ok, it's easy to miss a word or two which can affect the understanding of the plot.

I also find I often have to ask callers to repeat what they've said on the phone: not friends, but people from organisations who presumably are rattling through a script.
I usually make notes if it's an important call so I'm always asking them to, "Say that again."

Same here. Day to day conversations aren't a problem, phone usually OK, television programmes mean the sound being increased and decreased constantly. The music is my biggest annoyance, it often drowns out the dialogue.

I agree with other posters.

No problem when speaking face to face with others, but I find it very difficult to hear some of the actors' voices in some dramas. Especially when their back is to the camera, and they are speaking low. The music comes in, adding to the dramatic effects, drowning out everything they are saying.

Earlier in the week, The Pembrokeshire Murders was spoiled for me due to difficulties hearing what they were saying. I wondered whether it was something to do with flat-screen TVs.

Good tip about using sub-titles. Going to try that next time.

It s the T v definitely I have no problems hearing the radio presenters I have no problems with News or documentary programmes It’s dramas and I always use the sub titles

It's not you its the TV programmes I also think the colour is too dark.

i get that too i use subtitles .but people these days do not speak clearly ..i have to ask people to slow down and talk clearly .not all hearing aids block out the back ground noise though.i would get tested anyway ....

I need sub titles for any programme where they have any sort of accent apart from my own.

No problem with news or programmes like Would I Lie to You, or Bridgerton. Must check out Lucifer, Peasblossom as a sound check