The emotional side of hearing loss
Hearing loss is commonly associated with mental and emotional health. Realizing that you are gradually losing your hearing and may not be able to listen to your favorite music, communicate with loved ones, and participate in individual or group conversations can leave you in shock.
It often takes a long time, sometimes 4-5 years, for some people to realize they have hearing problems. From the onset of the condition until it is finally treated, the person suffering from the condition goes through various emotional stages, expressing their feelings about their condition.
POSTPONEMENT
Hearing loss in many people goes undetected and untreated because they continue to ignore the signs. While young children usually may not realize their hearing impairment until they are clinically evaluated, many adults tend to miss significant signs of hearing loss.
Not getting the right help at the right time can cause permanent damage to your hearing and affect your quality of life.
DENIAL
Why are you mumbling? Can you lower the volume of the background music so I can hear you better? Can you please repeat what you said? The audio on the TV must be too low, I can’t hear what they’re saying properly.
Denial is a natural reaction to hearing loss, but a temporary stage that occurs due to fear of embarrassment. Some people find it convenient to alter their environment to compensate for their hearing loss.
ANGER
The denial phase progresses and brings the victim to a stage where they begin to blame others out of frustration and anger. Family members or close associates may mock or laugh at her inability to hear clearly, upsetting the hard of hearing person and lashing out in anger to defend her inability.
WITHDRAWAL
Eventually, when the temporary defense (the denial and anger stage) is replaced with partial acceptance, the victim begins to withdraw from family gatherings and social events to avoid embarrassing situations.
They begin to avoid one-on-one interactions and group conversations for fear of letting people know about their hearing problem.
DEPRESSION
All the stages together automatically cause the person suffering from hearing loss to become isolated, which ultimately leads to depression.
Isolation and the loss of activity and social interaction create a feeling of low self-esteem, which prevents the person who suffers from getting the help and care they need.
ACCEPTANCE
After all the ignorance, denial, frustration and isolation, there comes a phase where the hearing impaired person gets tired of missing out on the things they used to enjoy.
The stage leads them to seek professional help and find a suitable hearing aid to improve their hearing and quality of life.
A visit to an experienced and reputable audiologist is the first step in the acceptance stage. A hearing specialist examines her hearing to determine the cause and degree of her hearing loss in order to offer a solution that best suits her condition and needs.
Many hearing centers and clinics offer a free introductory hearing evaluation to their clients, followed by a full hearing evaluation. The results of these hearing evaluations help the audiologist suggest appropriate treatment for your hearing impairment.
Also, using a digital hearing device for the first time can be a bit challenging at first. The user will hear sounds that he hasn’t heard in a long time, which may seem unusual and strange at first. Remember that it will take time for your ears to adjust to the new hearing device.
Remember that success with hearing aids depends largely on self-care and motivation. A positive attitude and a little effort on the part of the user can go a long way in speeding up the fitting process and improving the listening experience. It is recommended that you learn about the care and maintenance of your hearing device and hearing aid batteries to get the most out of your device and experience.