Hearing loss starts in the ears, but it affects much more. What starts as simple misunderstandings and asking people to repeat themselves can turn into anger, loneliness, anxiety, and broken relationships.
Even though hearing loss is often permanent, hearing aids can help. These devices make it easier for you to hear sounds that are hard to hear so that you can get back into your relationships. People take an average of five to seven years to deal with a problem once they know they have one. Also, only one in three people, or 30%, who are 70 or older and could benefit from hearing aids have tried them.
If you ignore or don’t treat your hearing loss, it can hurt you and the people you care about.
Communication is the key to keeping a relationship healthy.
Healthy relationships depend on being able to talk to each other. When your hearing starts to get worse, it can be hard to keep in touch with the people in your life. Tensions rise, and misunderstandings become the norm. Even if you’ve been with your partner or significant other for years and have been through a lot together, it’s still important to talk to them healthily.
Often, the person with better hearing will be an interpreter for the person with worse hearing. This can lead to unhealthy codependency and resentment on both sides. But stress comes from more than just having essential conversations and figuring out how to do things. Small talk and inside jokes are what bring people closer together and make them feel like they are understood. Hearing loss makes these interactions less frequent, so people feel less close to each other.
Communication and Relationships at Work
Hearing loss can also make it hard to get along with people at work. During a conversation, it is all too easy to look like you aren’t listening or aren’t interested when, in fact, you can’t hear. It can be tempting to act as if you understand, but this can lead to misunderstandings and problems at work.
But losing your hearing at work has more effects than just making it hard to talk to people. In the end, the brain is involved in how we hear. When the brain can’t get sound, it has to work harder. This can lead to memory loss, depression, anxiety, and pulling away from other people. These emotional effects of hearing loss can lower your value at work. As a result, the wages of a large portion of the working population with hearing loss are much lower than those with good hearing or who use hearing aids.
How hearing aids help foster better relationships
When you use hearing aids to treat your hearing loss, you’ll be able to notice sounds you may have missed for years. The longer you’ve lived with hearing loss that hasn’t been diagnosed or treated, the more likely it is that it will put a strain on your most important relationships. You can start to get them back if you put money into your hearing.
Improved communication
Hearing loss is just a little different for everyone. This is why you should get your hearing checked. We can determine your hearing loss and find the best hearing aids to help you hear better. With hearing aids, you’ll be able to understand what people are saying and start to connect with old friends and make new ones. This can help you feel better and more independent in the long run. With hearing aids, you’ll feel more confident going out, pursuing your interests, and improving your life.
Time is of the essence.
You might think you have trouble hearing, but you might not want to find out. Hearing loss is often linked to getting older, so many people put off getting help. The irony is that if you don’t have hearing aids, nothing makes you look more out of touch than struggling to hear.
If you haven’t done anything about your hearing loss for years, fixing some of the damage will take time. It’s best to start as soon as possible. It’s easy to take the first step. Call today to set up an appointment to get your hearing checked.