Hearing loss does not simply mean being unable to hear a few sounds each day. It means slowly beginning to feel excluded during family gatherings, being ridiculed behind your back, and becoming increasingly isolated as others no longer understand the sheer loneliness of being unable to hear.
Untreated hearing damage often results in depression, anxiety, and even leads to conflicts in marital and interpersonal relationships. Hearing loss can cause lowered self-esteem and social isolation. Seeking treatment for your hearing loss not only helps your hearing, it can also give a healthy boost to your cognitive wellbeing and emotional health.
According to a recent study, even people with mild hearing loss have higher levels of anxiety and interpersonal difficulties compared to those with no hearing loss. The mental health problems reported by those with hearing loss appeared to be higher than those with regular hearing.
Only a person with hearing loss can truly be aware of the isolating and lonely experience it is. No matter how much you try to explain it to others, no one can truly understand it unless they are going through it. This is why hearing loss tends to eat away at a person slowly from the inside, since they feel left out while the rest of the world continues with their dinner conversations.
Parties become like scavenger hunts while you try to piece together conversations by reading lips and decoding facial expressions. At the end of the day you feel exhausted simply because you are focusing so hard trying to make sense of what people around you are saying. This is called cognitive fatigue, resulting from excessive strain on the brain. Over time, this can lead to dementia and even stroke.
You may have been popular all throughout high school and even in your workplace, but you find that your friends, colleagues, and relatives appear to avoid talking to you lately. You find something artificial hidden beneath their smiles, as though they are sharing a private joke amongst themselves.
You worry about being unable to perform well at work since you can’t hear the instructions from your boss. Your spouse and children complain that you don’t understand them because you do not respond to them at all. Even your favorite TV program makes you feel stressed and frustrated since you can no longer hear what is being said, and the higher you raise the volume, the more your family complains.
All of the above are only some of the challenges faced by those with untreated hearing loss. It can be tiring, frustrating, and isolating. It can make you irritable, exhausted, and hesitant to perform even the simple tasks of your daily life. You may begin to feel powerless as your loved ones drift apart. Your hearing loss may even put you and your loved ones at risk since you may not be able to hear sounds such as alarms or intruders. This is why it is time to seek treatment for your hearing loss.
Getting hearing aids may be the most important decision of your life. It puts you back in control, helps you rebuild relationships and opens up communication channels. Your work performance may increase and your interpersonal relationships may also get back on track. Your self-confidence will get a healthy boost now that you can hear all that is going on around you. Your smile will return as your social isolation diminishes. Getting hearing aids may be the best thing you do for yourself.
Research indicates that those who wear hearing aids to treat hearing loss show significant improvements in their quality of life as well as general satisfaction. They also report lower levels of depression and other mental health issues while their cognitive abilities improve.
Hearing aids often sound more intimidating than they actually are, as we automatically think about big, clumsy devices of yesteryears. Contemporary hearing aids are smarter, sleeker, and practically invisible. They help you stay connected by streaming phone calls directly into your hearing aids. They also enable you to utilize Bluetooth and GPS settings, making them more like microscopic computers fitted discreetly within your ears!
With so many benefits of getting hearing aids, it’s a wonder why people wait almost a decade before they seek help! If you or a loved one is having hearing difficulties, get your hearing examined at the earliest opportunity. You do not need to suffer in silence. Early diagnosis can go a long way in getting you the effective treatment methods you need. Getting hearing aids can truly help you get your life back on track.