“Blindness separates us from things,” said Helen Keller, “but deafness separates us from people.” The same might be said of hearing loss, which – if left untreated – has the potential to be an isolating condition. Communication is key in all healthy relationships, and with untreated hearing loss, difficulties with speech recognition could cause breakdowns in communication. We’ll take a look at how untreated hearing loss affects socio-emotional aspects of your life and how seeking treatment can bring significant benefits.
How Untreated Hearing Loss Affects Your Relationships
With your spouse or partner, communication is incredibly important. Whether you’re planning days or weeks ahead, or you’re sharing intimate moments and heart-to-hearts, being able to hear your partner and respond appropriately is crucial. With untreated hearing loss, speech recognition becomes challenging.
It should come as no surprise that relationships suffer with untreated hearing loss, especially ones with your significant other. In 2007, the American Speech Language Hearing Association reported that 35% of survey respondents said that “out of all of their relationships, the one with their significant other suffered the most.”
Furthermore, a report from Action on Hearing Loss reveals the nuanced layers of living with someone with hearing loss. In their interviews, they found that “those with hearing loss viewed their partners as a valuable source of support and as having an important role in creating awareness of the presence of hearing loss and encouraging treatment.” On the other hand, they also found that “even the most supportive partners seemed to have difficulty truly understanding hearing loss, for example how fatigue and background noise play a role in how much their partner can hear at any given time.” It was confirmed by both parties that “there had been a significant change in the nature and content of their communication as a result of hearing loss.”
Consequences of Untreated Hearing Loss
People with untreated hearing loss may not realize they are experiencing any problems at first. In fact, making accommodations to hearing loss is a common coping mechanism, such as asking people to repeat themselves or to ask people to speak up or turn up the volume. Unfortunately, these fixes only work in the short term. Over time, these accommodations do not address the greater issue of hearing loss and could lead to a number of problems within the relationship. According to Healthy Hearing, problems in relationships due to untreated hearing loss may include:
- Frustration
- Resentment
- Loneliness, i.e. the hearing partners feel that they are missing out on companionship
- Curtailing of social activities, withdrawal from social interaction
- Decrease in intimate talk, joking with family
- Shared communication difficulties
- Decrease in shared activities such as watching TV
- Loss of companionship
- Decrease in communication (words are kept to a minimum)
Additionally, untreated hearing loss greatly impacts the individual who experiences it. People with untreated hearing loss are more likely to avoid socializing and may withdraw from events and conversations. Over time, this could lead to isolation. Unfortunately, for older people, social isolation is a leading cause in developing dementia – along with untreated hearing loss.
Seeking Treatment for Hearing Loss
The good news: treating hearing loss bring significant benefits to your social life and your most important relationships. It just takes one simple step: scheduling a hearing test.
Approximately one in three people over the age of 65 experience some degree of hearing loss, while 50% of people over the age of 75 and 80% of people over the age of 85 have a hearing loss. If you have a partner within this age range, it is important to encourage them to take a hearing test. If you fall within this age range, schedule a hearing test as a part of your annual health checkups.
Some of us have parents within this age range; these relationships are also important. If you notice that your parents are struggling with hearing loss, have a conversation about the benefits of seeking treatment.
Hearing tests are simple and painless. If a hearing loss is detected, we’ll work with you to find the best hearing aids to meet your specific needs. People wait an average of seven years from the time they first notice changes in their hearing to the time they decide to take a hearing test. Don’t be in these numbers! Take action today if you’ve noticed changes in our hearing and reconnect to the loved ones in your life.
To schedule a hearing test and consultation, contact us at Hearing Wellness Solutions today.