May have difficulty following speech, especially in noisy situations. This type of hearing loss Audiogram is often noticed by family first.

Often has difficulty following speech and frequency in cycles per second missing other quiet noises. Amplification is very successful for this loss, but you also need to use good hearing tactics.

Unable to hear most sounds unless they are very loud. Amplification is often useful, but you will also need to rely on good hearing tactics. Lip-reading classes would also be useful for people with this hearing loss. If you fall into this category, you may also use sign language and watch sign assisted programmes.

Will need to wear appropriate amplification technology (e.g. hearing aids, cochlear implant, FM) in order to hear conversational speech.

If you are experiencing difficulties communicating with a particular person in a situation. The most efficient way to do so is explain to them about these tactics below, making sure they are aware. Once they understand this can help make the situations easier for you.

• Get to the point
• Do not cover your mouth
• Get my attention
• Face me
• Do not speak to fast
• Find a suitable place to talk
• Do not shout

Dementia is an umbrella term for a range of progressive conditions that affect the brain. There are over 200 sub-types of dementia, but the five most common are:

• Alzheimer’s disease.
• Vascular dementia,
• Dementia with Lewy bodies,
• Frontotemporal dementia and mixed dementia.

The brain is made up of nerve cells (neurones) that communicate with each other by sending messages. Dementia damages the nerve cells in the brain so messages can’t be sent from and to the brain effectively, which prevents the body from functioning normally. Regardless of which type of dementia is diagnosed and what part of the brain is affected, each person will experience dementia in their own unique way. Dementia can affect a person at any age but it is more commonly diagnosed in people over the age of 65 years. A person developing dementia before age 65 is said to have young onset dementia. There are over 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK and this is set to rise to over one million by 2021.

People with dementia can have difficulty communicating with others, including finding the right words, or signs, for what they want to say. They will have difficulty processing what they’ve heard, particularly if there are distractions. According to some researchers, this difficulty in processing information (when there is competing information, auditory or otherwise) can be one of the first signs of some form of cognitive impairment.

Further evidence suggests that proper diagnosis and management of hearing loss, including provision of hearing aids, reduce the risk and impact of dementia and some of the other associated co-morbidities, such as falls and depression. It is worth mentioning that although dementia is diagnosed in later life, changes in the brain usually start developing many years before. The study looked at the benefits of building a "cognitive reserve", meaning that if the brain’s networks were strengthened, it could continue to function in later life regardless of the damage. As discussed, lifestyle factors can play a vital role in increasing or reducing an individual's dementia risk. It is suggested that not smoking, keeping healthy, doing exercise and treating high blood pressure and diabetes can all help reduce the risk of dementia for some, as well as cardiovascular disease. It is important to remember that not everyone will successfully make changes; some changes will not make a difference and some risks of dementia are hereditary and cannot be changed. If you are worried about hearing loss or dementia, it is best to speak to your GP who will then refer you to the appropriate professional for further investigation, for example an audiologist or ENT Consultant for hearing difficulties.