6 Signs Your Elderly Parent Is Losing Their Hearing
Joy of Hearing Team
Joy of Hearing Clinical Team
Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults. Approximately one in three people between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss, and nearly half of those older than 75 have difficulty hearing.
However, because age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) happens so gradually, your parent might not even realize it’s happening. Instead, they might think others are mumbling, or that the television is simply too quiet.
As a family member, you are often the first to notice. Here are 6 subtle signs that it might be time to book a clinical hearing assessment.
1. They frequently ask you to repeat yourself
This is often the first and most obvious sign. If you find yourself constantly having to say “I said…” or if they frequently respond with “What?” or “Huh?”, their auditory processing might be struggling with specific frequencies.
2. The TV or radio is uncomfortably loud
If you walk into their living room and the television volume is uncomfortably loud for you, but they claim it’s “just right,” this is a clear indicator of hearing degradation.
3. They struggle with conversations in noisy environments
Background noise is the enemy of compromised hearing. If your parent does fine in a quiet room but completely withdraws from the conversation at a busy family dinner or a noisy restaurant, they are likely experiencing “hidden hearing loss” or high-frequency loss.
4. They complain that everyone is “mumbling”
Age-related hearing loss typically affects high-frequency sounds first. This means they can still hear the volume of your voice (the vowels), but they miss the clarity (the consonants like ‘s’, ‘th’, ‘f’, and ‘sh’). To them, it truly sounds like everyone is mumbling.
5. They avoid social gatherings
When hearing becomes a constant strain, socializing becomes exhausting. If your parent is suddenly declining invitations to social events they used to enjoy, it might be due to the cognitive fatigue of trying to hear.
6. They don’t hear the phone or doorbell
Missing everyday auditory cues—like the microwave beeping, the phone ringing, or the doorbell—is a strong sign that their hearing threshold has dropped significantly.
What to do next
If you notice these signs, the worst thing you can do is ignore them. Untreated hearing loss is linked to cognitive decline, isolation, and depression.
The best first step is a completely painless, non-invasive diagnostic hearing assessment. At Joy of Hearing, we use state-of-the-art equipment to map exactly what frequencies are missing, and we provide a clear, scientific path forward.