I heard that sentence for years, from otherwise sharp, self-aware people. It's almost always the first sign — not of stubbornness, but of how gradually hearing loss sneaks up on a person.
It rarely arrives as silence. It arrives as everyone else getting harder to understand. The TV creeps louder. Restaurants become exhausting. You catch that someone spoke but not quite what they said, so you smile and nod. You start avoiding the phone. None of it feels like "losing your hearing" — it feels like the world got mumblier.
Here's the part worth knowing: the longer the brain goes without certain sounds, the harder it works to get them back later. Waiting isn't neutral. There's also growing research attention on the links between untreated hearing loss and things like social isolation and cognitive decline — reason enough not to just tough it out. (That's an active area, so I'd point you to current sources on it rather than taking my word.)
A hearing test is quick, usually free, and simply tells you where you stand. No commitment, no sales pitch required.
If you recognized yourself — or someone you love — in that opening line, The Hearing Aid Handbook is the no-pressure guide I wish every one of my patients had walked in holding.