A crowded streetcar. A busy patio on a Friday evening. A family dinner where three conversations are happening at once. Toronto is full of lively, noisy places, and for many people, they are part of what makes the city feel like home.
But if understanding speech in noise has started to feel harder, these same places can become tiring. You may hear that people are talking, yet find it difficult to follow what they are saying.
This article looks at what research suggests may contribute to this experience, how common it is in Canada, and when it may be helpful to book a hearing assessment with an Audiologist.
Hearing in Quiet vs. Hearing in Noise
Many people notice that conversations feel fine at home in a quiet room but become much harder in busy settings. This difference can be an important clue.
In a quiet space, the brain can often use context to fill in a sound that was missed. In a noisy space, background sound can cover the same small speech sounds, leaving less information to work with. Cleveland Clinic notes that people with age related hearing loss may have trouble understanding what people are saying in noisy places, like crowded rooms and restaurants.
Which Speech Sounds Are Most Affected?
Soft, high pitched consonants
Speech includes lower pitched sounds, such as many vowels, and higher pitched sounds, such as s, th, and f. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration consumer article explains that understanding consonant sounds depends on the ability to hear high pitches, and that losing access to sounds like s and th can make them harder to tell apart.
Why these sounds tend to fade first
Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that age related hearing loss most often affects the ability to hear high pitched sounds, while the ability to hear low pitched sounds is often not affected. When these softer sounds are already harder to hear, background noise in a busy space may cover them even more.
Is It the Ears or the Brain?
Hearing involves both. Sound is picked up by the inner ear and then carried along the hearing nerve to the brain. Cleveland Clinic describes a type of age related hearing loss, called neural presbycusis, that involves the loss of nerve cells in the inner ear or along the pathway to the brain and can affect speech understanding.
This is one reason a hearing assessment may include speech testing, not only tone testing.
How Common Is This in Canada?
Hearing changes are widespread, and many go unnoticed. According to Statistics Canada, an estimated 54 percent of Canadians aged 40 to 79 have at least mild hearing loss in the high frequency range, and 77 percent of those individuals had not perceived any loss of hearing.
Statistics Canada’s Health Reports also notes that once hearing loss is suspected, there is often an average delay of seven years or more before a person seeks help.
Signs to Watch For in Busy Places
You may notice that you:
- Follow one on one conversations more easily than group conversations
- Find restaurants, parties, or public transit harder for conversation
- Ask people to repeat themselves more often in noisy settings
- Lean in or watch people’s faces closely to follow along
- Feel tired after time in busy environments
- Avoid some social situations because conversation feels like work
These experiences do not confirm a hearing change on their own, but they may be a reason to have your hearing assessed.
Practical Strategies for Noisy Settings
Some simple strategies may make conversations in busy places easier:
- Choose your seat. Sit with your back to a wall and away from kitchens, bars, or speakers.
- Face the speaker. Seeing someone’s face and lips may help you follow along.
- Look for good lighting. Dim spaces can make visual cues harder to see.
- Visit at quieter times. Earlier reservations are often less crowded.
- Ask people to rephrase. A different wording may be easier to catch than a repeated one.
What to Expect at a Hearing Assessment
A hearing assessment with an Audiologist at Toronto Hearing Services may include:
- A conversation about where and when you notice difficulty
- An examination of your ears
- Pure tone testing across a range of pitches
- Speech testing, which may include listening with background noise
- A review of your results and a discussion of possible next steps
Cleveland Clinic describes pure tone testing, where you listen to sounds through headphones, as a common test used to assess age related hearing loss.
Possible options
Next steps depend on each person’s results and needs. For some people, an Audiologist may recommend hearing aids, which can be adjusted to support specific pitches. Some hearing aids also include features intended to help in noisy settings. Your Audiologist can discuss which options may be appropriate for you.
Book a Hearing Assessment in the Greater Toronto Area
If understanding speech in noise has started to feel more difficult, a hearing assessment may help you learn more about what is happening. Toronto Hearing Services serves patients across the Greater Toronto Area.
Call us toll free at 855.203.4863, or visit our Locations page to find the clinic nearest you and book an appointment with an Audiologist.
Sources
- Statistics Canada: Unperceived Hearing Loss Among Canadians Aged 40 to 79 (The Daily, 2019)
- Statistics Canada, Health Reports: Unperceived Hearing Loss Among Canadians Aged 40 to 79
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Sound Advice About Age Related Hearing Loss
- Johns Hopkins Medicine: Age Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis)
- Cleveland Clinic: Presbycusis (Age Related Hearing Loss)