Signs you may have hearing loss
Hearing loss usually happens gradually, which makes it easy to miss in yourself. Often a partner or family member notices before you do. Here is what to look out for, and what to do next.
Common signs.
If two or more of these sound familiar, it is worth getting checked. Tick the ones you recognise.
The next step is simple: a free hearing test. Quick, painless, and it tells you exactly where you stand, with no obligation to do anything next. Bring a friend or family member along and we will test them free too.
Everyday sounds you might be missing.
People with undiagnosed hearing loss often lose quieter, everyday sounds long before conversation gets hard. If any of these have gone quiet on you, it is worth a check, even if day-to-day conversation still feels fine.
Why get checked now?
Noticing the signs is the hard part. Confirming them takes one thorough appointment, with no pressure and no obligation.
If your hearing loss came on suddenly, over hours or a few days, it needs urgent medical attention, not a routine appointment. Contact your GP urgently, call NHS 111, or go to A&E if you cannot get seen quickly any other way. Getting seen within 72 hours genuinely improves the chances of recovery.
In our clinic, or in your home.
Same audiologists, same equipment, same full assessment. You choose where.
The full assessment at our Birmingham clinic, completely free, no obligation.
- 60 minutes, results before you leave
- Evening and weekend appointments
- Bring someone, they are tested free too
The same full test, brought to your living room, tuned to real life: your TV, your phone, your front door.
- Same audiologists, in the comfort of your home
- Whoever is with you is tested free
- Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry and more
Common questions.
Look for a pattern. Hearing loss happens all the time, not now and then. It is much worse when there is noise around you. And it affects some voices more than others, usually women and children. If that sounds familiar, get it checked.
Usually both of you. The sounds you lose first are the high ones, and those are what make words clear. So speech still sounds loud enough to you, but it sounds mumbled. That is why they keep repeating themselves and you think there is nothing wrong. A hearing test settles it in an hour.
No, and it is not meant to be. It is a quick check that tells you whether it is worth coming in. It cannot look inside your ear, and it cannot tell the difference between earwax and something more serious. A proper test does both.
It takes about an hour. We talk about what you are struggling with. We look inside both ears. We test your hearing through headphones and check how well you follow speech. Then we explain the results and give them to you on paper, the same day.
No. Plenty of the people we test do not need hearing aids, and we tell them so. If earwax is the problem, we deal with the earwax. If your hearing is fine for your age, we say that and tell you when to come back.
Written and clinically reviewed by our HCPC registered audiologists. Last reviewed: 14 September 2026. This page is general information, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your hearing, book a hearing test or speak to your GP.