How Treating Hearing Loss Improves Your Relationships

Losing your hearing can be the most isolating thing in the world, and 48 million Americans have a hearing loss. If you’re one of them, you’ve already begun to feel the effects of hearing loss on your relationships, and you struggle to communicate clearly with your loved ones. Don’t let your hearing loss stand between you and your friendships, and discover how treating hearing loss improves your relationships.

Hearing Loss Affects Your Family

If you have a hearing loss, you may think no one else will be affected. However, if you’ve been struggling to hear and have difficulty communicating, your whole family will suffer. Your relationship with your spouse will weaken, as you aren’t able to have easy conversations. Rather than sharing the little moments that make each day so special, you get into shouting matches just trying to decide what to eat for dinner, and even after you’ve asked your loved one to repeat themselves a few times, you still can’t quite understand what’s been said.

Your children and grandchildren will find it harder to connect with you, and struggle to have conversations with you. You may stop going to family dinners since you just can’t hear what’s being said, and you rarely answer the phone because you can’t understand enough of the words to follow the conversation. When you have hearing loss, your relationships suffer, and your hearing loss will affect your entire family, not just you.

Hearing Loss Affects Your Friendships

If you’re living with an untreated hearing loss, not only does your family suffer, your friendships are at risk as well. When you’re unable to follow conversations clearly, communication with friends can break down. You used to spend hours on the phone with friends, or jump at the chance to attend a dinner party, but with hearing loss you’re far more reluctant to get into a conversation. You may feel embarrassed to ask your friends to repeat themselves so many times, or feel like a burden when you keep whispering to the person beside you to find out what was said across the table.

Hearing Loss and Social Isolation

When you have hearing loss, your risk of social isolation, loneliness, and depression increases. Rather than meeting with friends, struggling to hear what’s been said, or failing to follow conversations, you choose to stay home. You won’t be able to maintain your friendships as easily, and you’ll start to feel more withdrawn. Living with untreated hearing loss can leave you feeling isolated and alone, and place a higher burden on your family as they try to give you the social support you need.

Signs of Hearing Loss

Did you know that you won’t be the first person to recognize your hearing loss? That’s because your brain is working overtime to help you hear, and it will make small adjustments each day to accommodate your hearing loss. Your family will likely spot your hearing loss before you do, so if your loved ones have been encouraging you to get a hearing test, listen to them. Signs that you have hearing loss include:

• Struggling to follow conversations
• Difficulty hearing on the phone
• Turning up the volume on the TV far too loud
• Failing to hear someone speak to you from across the room
• Difficulty hearing speech in places with a lot of background noise
• Frequently asking people to repeat themselves
• Increased feelings of loneliness and isolation

How Treating Hearing Loss Improves Your Relationships

Treating your hearing loss as soon as possible is the key to improving your relationships and increasing your quality of life. Half of all seniors over the age of 75 have hearing loss, so schedule a hearing test, and discover your level of hearing and your unique hearing loss. Finding the perfect pair of hearing aids, whether sleek Behind the Ear devices or small In the Ear devices, will give you back your ability to hear clearly and follow conversations with your family and friends. You’ll be able to share special moments with your loved ones, and treasure the time with your family. With hearing aids, you don’t have to worry about hearing in groups, and you can maintain a vibrant social life, improve your quality of life, and strengthen your relationships.