Hearing loss can affect anyone, regardless of their age or circumstances, but sometimes, your hearing test will come back with zero loss detected.
For those who went to get their hearing tested to monitor future changes, this can be a good sign of stable hearing. However, for individuals that were struggling with hearing and communication, this could be seen as an unfortunate dead end.
If you were told you have zero hearing loss detected, but you’ve been struggling with communication and hearing properly, please know that you’re not alone. Your struggles might have been missed because you may not have a hearing loss but perhaps hearing issues that can be supported by professional hearing care.
“My Ears are Constantly Ringing, but There’s No Source for the Sound.”
Dealing with an incessant ringing, whooshing, buzzing, or fluttering in your ear? It could be tinnitus, not hearing loss, that is challenging your ears.
Tinnitus is the name for that phantom noise with no source that only you can hear; that sound can range from an annoying buzzing to a loud, distracting roar that starts to affect stress and sleep.
If your comprehensive hearing evaluation showed no hearing loss, but you’re still dealing with the whistling or ringing sound, consider a tinnitus evaluation for your ears instead.
With a tinnitus assessment, your hearing care expert will determine the scale of your tinnitus symptoms and provide options for treatment to alleviate them, which could include tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), counseling, or Lenire treatment to help redirect your brain’s attention from tinnitus to more relaxing sounds.
“My Ears Feel Clogged, and I Deal with Occasional Hearing Loss Challenges.”
Earwax buildup could be to blame for a plugged-up feeling in your ears that leads to an occasional hearing loss.
Cerumen is a natural substance that our ears produce to protect our delicate ear canals from dead skin, debris, and dust. Sometimes earwax can get impacted, or stuck in our ears, due to hearing aids, earplugs or earphones, or using cotton swabs to try and remove the wax (only to push it further back in).
An earwax removal appointment could be your reprieve from temporary hearing loss or discomfort.
“Why Can I Hear but Not Understand?”
If you find that you can hear well but can’t always understand people or mix up words in conversations, you might be dealing with auditory processing disorder (APD).
APD is the name for the disconnect between your ears and your brain regarding hearing; your ears take in sound, but your brain misinterprets it, and instead of “What time are we getting dinner?” you’d hear “What chime is getting thinner?”
Sometimes misdiagnosed as hearing loss, APD can be addressed by a hearing health specialist who can help you find ways to strengthen your listening comprehension and address your hearing challenges.
Concerned About Your Hearing Health?
If you don’t feel heard after your hearing test, speak up!
Hearing challenges don’t always deal with hearing loss; for issues you’re dealing with that don’t show hearing loss, we’re here to help.
Hearing challenges don’t start and stop with hearing aids. Hearing care from a team of professionals that win when you do is what makes the difference in your hearing health.
For questions about hearing care or to talk to a member of our team, please don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment or find your closest location to call us over the phone.
