For some people, signs of hearing loss can be subtle and come on slowly. For others, they can be significant and come on suddenly. Either way, there are a number of symptoms that are common with hearing loss.

You may have hearing loss if you experience some of these symptoms:

• Sounds and speech are muffled
• Difficulty hearing or understanding words where there is background noise or a crowd of people
• Difficulty hearing consonants
• Frequently asking people to repeat themselves, speak more slowly, clearly or loudly
• Needing to turn your television or radio up to a high volume in order to hear it properly
• Withdrawal from conversations involving more than two people
• Reading lips in order to understand what people are saying
• Frequent ringing in your ears