May Is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month... When Did You Last Have Your Hearing Checked?

For years, Melissa Musgrove kept asking the people around her to speak up. "I wanted to tell my young adult children to speak up and articulate," said the North Alabama resident. She had been asking people to repeat themselves, chalking it up to mumbling or background noise... never connecting the dots. Then her son pulled her aside with a gentle observation: "Mom, you might have a hearing loss."

"He said it with such kindness and compassion," Musgrove recalled. "So I paid attention."

Her story is one of many worth telling this May, which is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month. The annual observance is dedicated to raising awareness about communication disorders and the treatments that restore connection and confidence.

Most people don't notice hearing loss until it's already affecting their daily life. "When people have hearing loss, it's typically not that they can't hear anything, it's that they're hearing parts of words," explains Dr. Jan Liles, owner and audiologist at Alabama Hearing Associates, in a conversation with FOX54 News reporter Logan-Alexandra Russell. "So they may be saying, 'Well, I heard you say that, but I didn't understand exactly what it was.' That's what's happening."

"I like to use the analogy of an iceberg," Dr. Liles continued. "The ear is the detector of sound — it's just the tip. The real mountain is below the water, where you can't see, and that's the brain. You hear in your ears, but you listen in your brain."

It's a distinction that matters. Hearing isn't passive, because the brain is constantly working to interpret sound, fill in gaps, and make meaning. When hearing loss goes untreated, that work gets harder and harder.

For Musgrove, the motivation to seek help came at just the right time, as she was preparing for her first international trip. "I had no idea they had listening devices and all sorts of things to help you better understand an interpreter," she said. "I thought, I need to hear better!"

The results have spoken for themselves. Musgrove now wears her hearing aids happily, and has become an enthusiastic advocate for others. "I'm always telling people about them," she said. "I think they're wonderful."

If you or a loved one has been asking people to repeat themselves, turning up the TV, or struggling to follow conversations in noisy places, it may be time to find out what's really going on. Schedule a hearing test at Alabama Hearing Associates in Florence, our team is ready to help you take that first step toward hearing better, and living better. Call us at (256) 740-8383 today!