Welcome to Stay Tuned Hearing, your independent local audiology clinic in Mount Eliza, supporting the wider Mornington Peninsula community.

Hearing changes are often gradual. Many people do not wake up one morning and suddenly feel as though their hearing has changed. Instead, small moments begin to add up. Some early signs can be asking someone to repeat themselves, turning the TV up a little higher, missing parts of conversation at dinner, or feeling unusually tired after trying to keep up in a noisy room.

A hearing test is not just for people who already know they have hearing loss. It can also help you understand what is happening early, give you peace of mind, and create a clear record of your hearing health for the future.

Signs It Might Be Time to Book a Hearing Test

2. You often ask people to repeat themselves

If “sorry?”, “what was that?” or “can you say that again?” has become part of your daily conversation, it may be worth having your hearing checked.

This does not always mean you cannot hear sound. Often, people can hear that someone is speaking, but the words are not clear enough to understand properly.

3. People seem to be mumbling

A common complaint is: “Everyone mumbles these days.”

In reality, the issue may be that speech clarity has changed. Certain speech sounds, especially softer consonants, can become harder to pick up. This can make words sound blurred, muffled or incomplete, even when the person speaking is nearby.

4. The TV, radio or phone volume keeps creeping up

Needing the TV or radio louder than other people prefer is a common sign that hearing may have changed.

It can be easy to miss this at first because the increase is usually gradual. You may only notice when someone else comments that the volume is too high, or when you find yourself relying on subtitles more often.

5. Higher-pitched voices and sounds are harder to hear

Some people first notice hearing changes when they struggle with higher-pitched voices or everyday sounds.

This might include children’s voices, some women’s voices, birds, timers, doorbells, phone alerts or certain consonant sounds in speech. You may still hear deeper voices quite well, which can make the hearing change harder to recognise.

6. You notice ringing, buzzing or hissing in your ears

Tinnitus is the experience of hearing ringing, buzzing, hissing, humming, clicking or similar sounds when there is no external sound causing it.

Tinnitus can have several causes, including hearing loss, earwax build-up, loud noise exposure, ear infections, some medicines and other health conditions. If it is persistent, new, one-sided, pulsing, or affecting your sleep or concentration, it is worth discussing with a hearing health professional or GP.

7. Listening feels tiring

When your brain has to work harder to fill in missing parts of conversation, listening can become tiring.

You may feel fine at the start of a family lunch, meeting or social event, but drained by the end of it. This listening fatigue can be one of the reasons people start avoiding busy environments, even before they realise hearing is part of the issue.

9. You are starting to avoid social situations

Hearing difficulties can affect more than your ears. They can make social situations feel frustrating, embarrassing or exhausting.

Some people begin declining invitations, avoiding phone calls, sitting quietly in groups, or letting others carry the conversation. If this sounds familiar, a hearing test can help clarify whether hearing is part of the reason.

A Hearing Test Can Also Create an Important Baseline

A professional hearing test does more than tell you whether you have hearing loss today. It can also create a baseline audiogram, which is a record of your hearing levels at a point in time.

This can be especially useful if you are about to start work, or already work, in a noisy industry such as:

• construction
• manufacturing
• agriculture
• transport
• aviation
• emergency services
• factory work
• mechanical trades
• landscaping
• roadworks
• mining or quarry work
• work involving power tools, machinery, engines or impact noise

If your hearing is tested before or early in your exposure to noisy work, future tests can be compared against that original result. This can help identify whether your hearing has changed over time.

For people working in noisy environments, this record may also become relevant if a WorkSafe or WorkCover-related hearing matter needs to be assessed in the future. A baseline test does not automatically prove a claim, but it may help show what your hearing was like before or near the start of your noise exposure.

Why Workplace Hearing Checks Matter

Noise-related hearing loss can be permanent, and it often develops slowly.

If you work around loud equipment, machinery, tools, engines or impact noise, you may not notice the damage straight away. By the time conversation sounds unclear or tinnitus becomes persistent, the change may have been building for some time.

Regular hearing checks can help:

• identify early changes before they become more severe
• compare your current hearing with previous results
• show whether your hearing protection strategy is working
• support better use of earplugs, earmuffs or custom hearing protection
• provide documentation if hearing changes need to be investigated
• guide next steps if hearing loss, tinnitus or noise sensitivity is detected

For employers in noisy industries, hearing checks can also be part of a broader workplace hearing conservation approach. Contact us if you want to have a hearing test for your employees at your workplace!

When to Seek Help Urgently

Most hearing changes can be assessed through a standard appointment. However, sudden hearing loss should be treated as urgent.

Seek urgent medical care if you experience sudden hearing loss, especially if it affects one ear, comes with dizziness, ear pain, ringing, facial weakness, numbness, or happens after a head injury or loud noise exposure.

Book a Hearing Test in Mount Eliza

If conversations are becoming harder, the TV volume is creeping up, or you are starting work in a noisy industry, a hearing test can give you clarity.

Stay Tuned Hearing provides hearing assessments from our clinic in Mount Eliza, supporting clients across the Mornington Peninsula. (We also can arrange home visits for those that prefer)

Whether you are checking a concern, creating a workplace baseline, or simply wanting to understand your hearing health, we can help you take the next step with clear advice and local care.

Contact Stay Tuned Hearing to book your hearing assessment.