Category — Effects of hearing loss

It is extremely important to any business to maintain good customer relations.  This includes how you listen to people and respond to situations and conversations.  Team projects at work are an important business method to improve customer service, sales and profit.  Coworkers are expected to work together efficiently, with an emphasis on everyone on the team pulling their own weight on projects.  Undiagnosed hearing loss can have a dramatic effect on your interaction with your coworkers and customers.

Have you already asked your wife to repeat herself for the second time?  Are you hearing only muffled words or nothing at all?  Are you turning your head to the right or left to hear out of the ear that still works as it should?  Are you finding yourself becoming frustrated, or even angry, with those around you because they are mumbling?  If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you may be feeling the effects of hearing loss.  

Depression is a chronic, serious mental illness that can lead to other, more dangerous conditions.  Depression can suppress the immune system and even lead to paranoia and borderline schizophrenia in some people.  Most people would be surprised to learn how closely undiagnosed hearing loss and depression have been linked in older adults.  There have been several studies that validate the link between hearing loss and depression.  One such study by the National Council on Aging found, of the 2,300 adults over age 50 in the study, those with undiagnosed hearing loss were more likely to suffer from depression and its attendant feelings of sadness, anxiety and paranoia.

The thought of losing one’s hearing is certainly disturbing.  As kids, lots of us probably plugged our ears and walked around, trying to simulate what it would be like, but of course after just a few minutes we could take our fingers out and go along with our lives.  Unfortunately, for someone who actually loses their hearing, it’s just not that simple.  

No one wants to admit they are hard of hearing.  It’s embarrassing.  To admit you really don’t hear that well is to admit you have a problem.  Hearing loss is a problem and admitting you have it could be the first step to an easy and painless solution.

Everyone agrees that it’s the communication between two people that brings intimacy between two people.  All of us have who we call our best or closest friend.  We feel safe talking to them because of a bond or feeling of intimacy built usually on open communication.  This feeling develops with people we feel close to.

For some, a hearing loss can be devastating to those relationships.  This would affect more people than one may think.  Take, for instance, the sound of a lover’s voice.  If you were constantly asking “what” or “repeat that”, how long would the intimacy last?

One of the most important aspects of a wonderful marriage is good communication.  It is so important to really listen to your spouse and understand what your partner is trying to say.  If your mate has to keep repeating things because you don’t hear, or if you pretend to hear when you don’t, you could have problems.  Your spouse may even stop trying to communicate with you unless it’s really necessary, and you will miss out on all the little things you used to enjoy talking about with him/her.

This was sent to me and I think it shows the benefits of digital technology available today.

Hearing and Confusion in My 90 Year Old Mom.  Did Mom hear what I said, or pretend? Is she confused?  She IS 89 and has dementia.  She asks the same things constantly.  

A few years ago my brothers and I replaced her ten-year old hearing aids.  There was new technology available. We hoped she would benefit from it.  She certainly did!  The new hearing aids had three settings: the first for normal conversation in a small area, the second for a medium amount of background noise (the aids worked in a way to reduce background noise and amplify what was being said nearby), and the third for situations with a lot of background noise, like restaurants.  The settings were simple for an older person to grasp.  There was a small button on the aid she could push to change the setting.  This system worked very well for several years.  

One of the most difficult things in the world for many individuals to deal with is hearing loss. Though hearing loss might seem like a normal part of the aging process that people should learn to deal with, the social repercussions of these problems is much greater than most realize. Losing your hearing is not something that is easily dealt with and it can be a tough adjustment for people who have spent their entire lives with good hearing. So how are those people with poor hearing adjusting? What sorts of things are they going through?

Hearing loss affects most people at some point in their lives. Whether it’s a family member whose hearing isn’t what it used to be or your own hearing is waning, this is a very common problem. With age or occasional injury, comes a decrease in normal hearing. Luckily, there are solutions to hearing loss; these can bring back normal living.

The effects of hearing loss are immense and often permeate all aspects of life. The physical effects are those associated with hearing loss: being unable to hear conversations, misunderstanding what people say to you, and sounds being muffled. All of these can be frustrating to family members and others, as your hearing loss can be misconstrued as you not listening or not wanting to pay attention to a conversation.