Menopause marks a stage in a woman’s life when her monthly periods cease for at least 12 months. Menopause also signifies an end to a woman’s ability to reproduce. This life transition occurs in three stages: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Perimenopause marks the initial stage, which begins ten years prior to full menopause as hormone levels begin to decrease. Postmenopause follows menopause, after the menstrual cycle has ended for an entire year. During this stage, common symptoms (i.e., hot flashes, anxiety, sleep issues) ease for many women.

Although common symptoms like hot flashes are well known, there are also several overlooked symptoms associated with menopause, including:

1. Hair loss and thinning hair
Women lose hair daily regardless of health or age, meaning that this symptom often goes unnoticed. If you are over the age of 40 and begin to notice more hair loss, the best thing to do is consult with your doctor on the matter. To keep track of your hair loss, pay attention to your hairbrush, pillow, shower, and floors to see if there is more hair fall than normal. The changing levels of your body’s hormone is what causes hair loss during menopause. The reduction of progesterone and estrogen slows hair growth and hair starts to fall off. In response to estrogen and progesterone loss, the body produces androgens that cause shrinkage to the hair follicles, making them fall off.

2. Feeling of insects crawling on the skin
Menopause often triggers formication, which is characterized by a sensation of itching, numbness, tingling, or burning. This feeling is often a hallucination, and not actually caused by skin irritation. Many women explain a sensation of feeling crawling under their skin.

3. Altered spatial awareness
Spatial awareness gives you the ability to be conscious of your surroundings and react appropriately to them. Often, women confuse decline in spatial awareness with just normal memory loss. When you begin to lose track of objects, places, and directions, you may be losing spatial awareness. This symptom becomes noticeable if an individual is forgetting basic things.

4. Tinnitus
Tinnitus refers to hearing sounds that can’t be heard by others around you. It can be experienced as whistling, humming, buzzing, or hissing in the ears. Some women may experience ringing in the ears or sounds similar to music or singing. This symptom often goes unnoticed because it has similar characteristics to hearing problems. Or, an individual might just confuse their tinnitus symptoms with surrounding noises.

5. Dry mouth and dental issues
Regardless of age, women can experience mouth dryness or dental issues. However, these issues can become more obvious around menopause. A dental professional can help identify the cause of issues such as dry or bleeding gums, as well as give advice on treatment.

Dealing with these symptoms does not have to be difficult, as there are therapies and medications to reduce many of these issues. For example, physicians have developed drugs such as introsa to help with dyspareunia, a common menopausal issue. Talk to your doctor to find solutions for your specific menopause symptoms.