Treating Hearing Loss Could Reduce Depression

It can be quite mentally and emotionally difficult to adjust to hearing loss, especially if that hearing loss occurred recently or as the result of a traumatic incident with loud noise. First and foremost, it can simply be very difficult to adjust to the reality of your hearing capabilities diminishing. The prospect of treating your hearing loss and adjusting to new communication patterns can be equally as daunting. It is important to practice patience and perseverance in order to stave off feelings of anxiety, depression, and isolation.

How Hearing Loss Affects Our Mental Health

People experiencing hearing loss may find themselves receding from those who love them most, such as friends and loved ones, and/or experiencing difficulties at work. Hearing loss can make people anxious about being in public, where lots of different sounds can get in the way of people’s abilities to make out conversations with and between people. Other details about working with hearing loss but that can feel really small can also be incredibly frustrating. For example, it can be quite difficult to bounce back from bad hearing days. These are days when it seems that nothing seems to be communicated well: where you do not feel like you understand what people are saying, or where you feel that people are unable to understand what you are saying or what you need. These frustrations can be related to the simply but difficult struggle of adjusting to new hearing aids or making adjustments to new or different hearing aids.

A Connection Between Hearing Loss and Depression

With these points in mind, it may not be hard to understand that there is in fact a relationship between hearing loss and depression. Put simply: when you do not feel like you can hear well, you are at greater risk for feeling like you are not making connections with the world around you. The sense of isolation that can result from this can be difficult to stave off. To this end, it is important that you take steps to maintain your current hearing health, and to ensure future healthy hearing habits, you can reduce the chance of depression associated with hearing loss. As you treat your hearing loss, you will likely become more comfortable entering into situations where you may have previously had difficulties hearing or engaging in conversation. Your mood will also likely improve when you feel more integrated into all aspects of your home and work life.

Seeking Treatment for Hearing Loss

It is easier to treat your hearing loss than you might think. While existing hearing loss cannot be repaired, there are many things you and your hearing health professional can do to maintain your hearing levels and prevent future loss. One of the easiest ways to begin treating your hearing loss is to find a hearing health professional who you feel comfortable with. This person will be an important guide for you as you seek out a hearing aid (if necessary) that will best suit your needs. Your hearing health professional will also be key as you work on addressing the other, smaller scale ways that you can do to maintain your hearing health. These include as avoiding loud sounds and switching from in-ear to over-ear headphones.

Disclosure Methods for Hearing Loss

Some people find it useful to simply communicate about their hearing loss. There are different ways of disclosing your hearing needs. Of course, you can choose to not disclose at all. People who go this route often use language such as “Can you speak up? I can’t hear you.” When in complex hearing situations. It can be difficult for those you’re communicating to understand your real needs, however. As you begin treating your hearing loss, consider telling people that you are having difficulty hearing and decide based on the situation whether you feel comfortable disclosing why. This is the time to tell people what you need from them in order to hear better. You can do this simply by saying things such as “I hear better out of my left ear.”
Though there is no cure for hearing loss, there are many easy ways to change your communication patterns to maintain the hearing that you do have. Making these slight changes will have immeasurable changes on your feelings of connection to those around you and on your desires to put yourself out there in the world. It is important that you communicate your hearing needs to the people around you.
To seek treatment for hearing loss, contact us at Orange County Physicians’ Hearing Services today.