DH has been nagging encouraging me to get my hearing tested as I can never understand a bloody word he says. I decided to placate him a couple of months back and did the action on hearing loss online test (you have to identify numbers that are read out against a background of static). All fine. Today I was reading something that made reference to hearing loss in different sound frequencies, so I found a lot some online hearing tests that play sounds at different frequencies and volumes and they all had my hearing tailing off dramatically at 500hz (although was really pretty awesome between 4k and 8k). I've tried different tests, different computers, different speakers and headphones/no headphones and, although the levels alter slightly, it always falls sharply at 500hz.
Obviously I shall find somewhere that does proper hearing tests, but until then, can anyone tell me how normal/abnormal this is and how reliable the online tests might be? The only things I can think of that I struggle with are:
- understanding DH (who has a particularly sexy low voice)
- I always think that the neighbour's dog barking is one of the children calling out from their bed in the evening (this is a bit of a running joke now!)
- I am very sensitive to loud noises, especially when the occasional jet plane screams overhead and frightens the living daylights out of me. Probably not hearing related, but I now wonder if that's because I don't hear them approaching for some time
- following dialogue in films
- understanding what people, particularly men, are saying if there is lots of background noise
I can hear the birds, the children (every word from many rooms away), taps dripping etc with no problems at all.
TIA
) and their recommendation is for anyone under 40 to start with their GP 