You know what they say: “You can’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” The same goes for hearing. You can’t judge a loved ones with hearing loss until you know how they hear the world. We all have a friend or relative with some degree of hearing loss. And sure, it may be annoying when they crank up the volume of the TV to an ear-splitting level, or when they ask you to repeat yourself several times. But before you get angry, try their hearing on for size. A few websites offer simulators that recreate how people with different types of hearing loss hear sounds. I spent some time on the Hear-It online hearing loss and tinnitus simulator and was shocked at the way the same music track sounded across different levels of hearing loss. My mother suffers from tinnitus, and when I clicked on the representation of that condition, I couldn’t believe how the constant buzzing and popping drowned out the music. It made me question every time I got frustrated when she asked me to repeat myself. If you have a loved one with hearing loss, it’s definitely worth your time to try the simulator and hear what they hear. And if you are suffering from hearing loss, it might help you realize how you could be hearing down the road without treatment. When you come into Clifton Springs Hearing Center, we’ll perform a series of tests to find the best treatment options for you, so you can finally hear what you’ve been missing. Contact us today to make an appointment.