What is Hearing Fatigue?

Hearing or Auditory fatigue is the feeling of being tired after a challenging listening event or being unable to pay attention after listening for a long time.  This happens because of the effort we put in to listen in a difficult to hear in environment. This is especially true if you have a hearing loss.  Even a mild hearing problem can cause hearing or auditory fatigue.  It can happen to anyone of any age.  Children and adults can both experience this.

Some of the symptoms include:

Headaches

Feelings of stress

Feelings of being tired

Challenges concentrating which can demonstrate as difficulty attending at work or

at school.

What can we do about this?

  1. Realize it is happening
  2. Get a hearing evaluation to determine if you have a hearing loss.
  3. Use appropriate hearing aids to reduce listening effort if you have a hearing loss.
  4. Use an assisted listening device to help your hearing aids work better in noise.
  5. Sit away from the noise whenever possible.
  6. Take listening breaks away to give you some time to recover from listening intently.

Please contact our office at 203-452-7081 ext 113 if you would like to schedule a hearing evaluation.